Zero
by spiceXisXnice
Summary: So that was it, then. 0 was deaf. She would be of no use to him. A waste of a perfectly good part of his soul. He swept her aside and began working on the creations that would matter.  Mostly post-story, 6xOC, 5x9
1. Can I Draw You?

0 sat in the room for a long time.

She was quiet, 0. The Scientist had made her first, an experiment: an imperfect one at that. After he'd given her life, he set her down, patted her stiff, denim head and said, "Hello." And she didn't respond. She stared at him, her eyes wide. "I'm Dr. Oppenheimer." Still no response. The Scientist grew confused, but after a moment, decided to try something. He clapped, under the table, where she couldn't see.

No response.

He clapped several times and still, nothing. So that was it, then. She was deaf. She would be of no use to him. A waste of a perfectly good part of his soul. He swept her aside and began working on the creations that would matter.

What he failed to take into account was that she was bright. She learned how to fix things, how to create, and, perhaps most importantly, how to communicate. The Scientist had a book full of hands making words and she learned it, every last page.

0 was deaf, but she was not silent.

When he made 1, 0 had looked on from a shelf where she'd made her home. When he breathed, her eyes lit up: perhaps this was someone to talk to. She jumped down. 1 looked at her mistrustfully, then she began signing away. "Speak English," he'd commanded, but she couldn't hear him. When she finally tried to speak, everything was garbled. 1 pronounced her not worth his time and left.

This crushed her. When 2 breathed, she didn't even come off the shelf.

3 and 4 had given her a ray of hope. Not one, but two, who couldn't talk, like her! But when the scientist clapped below them, they responded, and they talked to each other in clicks and flashes of their eyes. They only spoke to each other. And when 0 tried to flash her eyes at the wall, believing that maybe she could do it, nothing happened. She felt the house shake, but could not hear the machine-gun fire outside.

5 seemed to be nothing special ('like me!' she thought), but as soon as the Scientist put him down, he took the man's pen and fixed it, then 2 came in and took him away. 0 was alone again. She was beginning to think she'd always be alone.

6 stayed in the workshop a very long time. The scientist had taken several pens (including the one that 5 had fixed so lovingly) and made them 6's fingers. When he awoke, he took a pile of paper and began sketching things he saw around the workshop. He sketched the Scientist, his tools, his little piece of jewelry…and then he saw 0. He climbed up.

"Can I draw you?" he asked. 0 stared at him, and 6 took a piece of paper and began sketching her. "Who are you?" he asked, about halfway through the sketch.

0 had a firmer grasp on the Quiet Language (as she called it) and held her hand up with her fingers and thumb touching. "Zero?" asked 6. 0 nodded and showed him her back.

"Can you speak?" he asked. 0 just stared at him, confused, then touched her lips and the side of her head. "I'm sorry—" he said, but 0 took his hands and shook her head. She put her hands in front of her, on top of each other, and separated them, then touched where her audio sensors should be. "You can't hear," 6 said, understanding dawning. He thought for a moment, then took a second scrap of paper out and wrote, 'Talk?'

0 opened her mouth and let the garbled words pour out. She then shut it self-consciously and looked away. 6 touched her hand and, when she looked up at him, he smiled. 0 smiled, too, and touched her hand to her chin, bringing it out. 6 finished the sketch of her.

They both watched as 7 came alive, but before the Scientist had even a chance to say anything, she leapt out of the window and down to the street. 0 watched her run off, then turned back to 6. He was sketching that piece of jewelry again. She touched his shoulder and he looked up at her, then she raised her eyebrow. 6 shrugged and finished his sketch. 6 heard something boom outside.

One evening, as the Scientist was working on 8, 0 gave 6 his key. She'd found it in the Scientist's desk, and while she didn't care for it, she knew 6 enjoyed things like that. She was right: he'd put it on his neck and never taken it off.

0 hated 8, because he took 6 away. They watched as the Scientist handed 8 a pair of scissors that 8 then snapped in half. The Scientist, pleased, called 6 down. "I have to go," said 6, touching his chest and pointing to the Scientist. 0 nodded, then watched as the Scientist said some things, then 6 pointed at her. She hid, but not quickly enough.

If she'd been able to hear, she would have heard the Scientist say, "Oh, _that_. I thought it was long gone. It has no place among you, Six. One to protect you, Two to inspire you, Three and Four to teach and define you, Five to guide you, and you, Six, you to lead them. Zero to do what? Sit there silent? Unable to even hear you?"

"She's smart," said 6.

"It's mute," the Scientist patiently explained. "It'll be of no use."

"She," said 6, gripping his key. "Not it."

"Eight, take him," said the Scientist, so 6 had no choice when he was hefted over 8's shoulder and taken out. 0 couldn't even say anything.

When 9 arrived and the Scientist died, she didn't come down. It wasn't until 9 left that she finally jumped off the shelf and followed him.

She watched from the shadows as 2 was taken, as 9 made it back to the cathedral. She debated making herself known, but when she saw the shadows of 1 and 8 on the top floor, she knew she'd done the right thing by staying put. She made herself a place to hide in the shadows of that great building.

It was a miracle she didn't die in the fire. The building had collapsed all around her, and it was only through sheer luck that she was able to lift the boards that had collapsed on her. She'd run out, and providence ensured that none of the remaining dolls had seen her. It was wonderful seeing 6 again. But she stayed still, silent, and hidden, even from the balloons.

She witnessed the burial of 2, and the horror of the Seamstress, and still didn't make a noise. She noticed 8 didn't come back, and so, so many times it took all she had to not say anything. But she knew who she was. She knew her place.

She almost made herself known after the building had blown up, destroying the B.R.A.I.N. with it. After all, the war was over now, right? It was okay to be useless, now. She watched the dolls celebrate and make merry, and she saw 6 carried around by a now one-eyed 5. She felt…conflicted, watching that. She was happy 6 had made friends. But, at the same time, she knew she had now been replaced. This was no place for her.

At least that was what she thought until she saw 6 make the sign for her name. 5 looked intrigued. He was talking about her! Now was the time to make herself known! She brushed off the dirt, calibrated her eyes, and was about to step out when she saw 5 chase the record down the hill. Then, they all saw it.

She stayed in her hiding place, horrified, but silent, as it took 5. She ran behind the machine when they reached the bridge, watching in terror as 6 stopped 7 from destroying it. The machine snatched him, took him, and dropped him.

0 made a noise, then. It was little more than a shriek of panic, a garbled yell of someone watching the only thing they knew, and loved, being taken away, before jumping off the side of the cliff towards him. She didn't care if they saw her, didn't care if they'd heard her cry. She held the sides of the cliff, scaling them like an animal, before reaching the river below. 6 was there, held in the middle of the stream by a stick lodged in the key around his neck. She swam out to get him, grabbing his body and dragging it to the shore where she could hold it and cry in peace.

There was no place left for her now. Truly no place left.

She wasn't sure how long she remained there, holding 6. Days. On the second day she saw 2's body wash up on the shore, a coin on his eyes. She took his body, too, and hauled it onto the shore. This doll she hadn't known. She ran her fingers down his face and thought to herself, 'Maybe he would have been kind to me.'

The world was dead. Her only friend was dead. She couldn't help but think that she should be dead, too.


	2. I'm Here

Of course I couldn't let them all die. Where's the fun in that?

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><p>She was resting when the rain began to fall.<p>

When the first drop hit her head, it was alarming, to say the least. She hadn't heard the thunderstorm sneak up on her, but when she looked up, she saw the clouds in the sky, just as a second drop hit her eye. She stumbled back, rubbing it with her sleeve, when she felt the hand on her foot.

The shock of 6 touching her was enough to elicit another rare vocalization from her, a guttural shriek. 6's head snapped up at the noise, his eyes slowly calibrating to register the frightened doll in front of him. He slowly held up his fingers, curling them to touch his thumb.

This caused 0 to swoop down and hug him, holding him as tight as she could. After a moment, 6 began to cough into her shoulder. She looked at him and he released her, holding his fingers up to the sky and wiggling them as he brought them down. 0 dragged him out into the rain, where he sat, elated, for a moment.

"Ugh," moaned 2 from where he was sitting against the wall. 6 pointed at him and 0 turned and, seeing this doll she didn't know, dove behind a rock to hide.

"Two!" said 6, smiling. "Come sit in the rain! It's wonderful!"

"I'm alive," said 2, shocked, feeling his body unbelievingly. "How…?"

"The rain," said 6, looking into the green-spattered rain. "Brought us back. Told you—trapped."

"I remember dying," said 2. "How am I here?"

"She must've got you," said 6, shrugging.

"She?"

"Zero!" yelled 6, but of course, 0 couldn't hear him. After a moment, he lobbed a smaller rock at the one she was hiding behind and she felt the vibration. "Zero, c'mon."

0 lifted her head up ever so slightly, her eyes peering over the rock. 6 motioned her over and she obeyed, walking over and sitting next to 6, her eyes downcast. "Zero," said 6. "Met her in the workshop. Ages ago."

"She was the first?" said 2, awed.

"She can't hear," said 6, touching his mouth, then his ear. 0 saw this and nodded.

"Deaf?" said 2. "We can fix that." He mimed turning a screw in his head.

'No,' 0 signed frantically. 'The man forgot audio sensors for me, and there's no room in there now. I'm afraid if I go rooting around for room, I'll break something.'

"She says you can't," said 6.

"You knew her before?" asked 2.

"In the workshop," 6 repeated. "Watched the Scientist make Seven and Eight. Then Eight took me away."

"Goodness," said 2. "Why haven't I met her before?"

6 turned to 0 and mimed, as best as he could, 'Where were you?'

'I followed you,' 0 signed. 'I saw everything.'

"Why didn't you help?" 6 blurted. 0 furrowed her brows. 6 sighed, frustrated, and signed, 'Nowhere?'

'Hiding,' said 0, looking ashamed. 'I couldn't be seen. I'm worthless, remember? Zero.'

'No, no,' signed 6. He took her hands and smiled at her. 0 smiled back, then looked away.

"What did she say?" asked 2.

"She was hiding, but she saw everything," said 6, releasing 0's hands and standing, helping her up as well.

"Everything? Really?" asked 2, intrigued. "So she knows about the others?"

"Maybe," said 6. "Saw Five get taken. And Eight. And you." He turned to 0. 'One, Three, Four, Seven, Nine?'

0 shrugged. 'When you fell, I…came after you. I didn't see what happened to the others.'

"She doesn't know," said 6. "We could find them!"

"If we expose them to some of this water…" said 2, rubbing his chin, "they could possibly come back."

0 shook her head and held up her hand, the middle finger touching the thumb.

"Eight," said 6. "Not all of us."

"What happened to Eight?"

"Burned," said 6. "Body is gone. No place left for his soul."

"Oh," said 2, taken aback. "That's…upsetting." He paused. "We should try to find Five." 0 pointed upwards. "He's up there?" 0 nodded.

"FIVE!" yelled 6. "FIVE!" They waited a few moments, then they heard a groan. "He's alive!" said 6. He touched 0's shoulder, then held up five fingers and a thumbs-up. 0 only cowered.

"Why is she afraid of everything?" asked 2.

"Dunno," said 6 a look of concern filling his mismatched eyes as he looked at the hunched-over 0.

"Five!" yelled 2.

"Two?" he heard a faint voice ask far above them. Suddenly, 5's head popped out from over the cliff's edge.

"Five!" chuckled 2, waving. "You're a sight for sore eyes, m'boy!"

"How are you alive?" demanded 5. "How am _I_ alive?" He looked into the clouds and added, "What is this stuff?"

"Rain," said 6. "Can you get us?"

"The tide's rising, m'boy," said 2.

"Yeah, I just…let me try to find a rope," said 5, wandering off.

6 bent and lifted 0's head with his hand. She had a look of fear in her eyes. 6 cocked an eyebrow at her. 0 only shrunk down further. "C'mon, Zero," he said softly. "What's wrong?"

0 sighed, then slowly lifted up her fist, thumb out, and brought it towards herself, turning it as she did.

"The others?" asked 6. He haltingly signed, trying to remember the little 0 had taught him, 'Others good.'

0 shook her head and held up one finger.

"One _is_ mean," said 6, forgetting she couldn't hear him, "but the rest are okay." 0 stared at him, and 6 touched his chest and pointed to the ground. "I'm here," he said.

0 hesitated for another moment, and then nodded. 6 smiled and patted her cheek.

"Okay, I think I found something!" they heard 5 yell, and a moment later a long, thin rope dropped down.

6 turned to 0. "You and me climb up," he mimed, "then we pull up Two." 0 nodded. 6 bent and made a step out of his hands, boosting 0 up, following her when she got a grip on the rope (it held taut; 0 figured it must be tied to the collapsed bridge). She slipped, once, but 6 made sure she didn't fall.

When she reached the top, 5 grabbed 0 under her arms and heaved her up. 0 held up three fingers and pointed down. "Three?" asked 5, his brow furrowed. 0 rolled her eyes and bent down, grabbing 6 and hoisting him up as well. "Six!" yelled 5, hugging 6 tightly.

"Hi, Five," said 6. After a small pause, 0 tapped on 6's shoulder and held up two fingers. "Oh, Two!" 6 exclaimed, going to all fours and crawling to the cliff's ledge. "Two! Ready?"

"As I'll ever be!" 2's small voice came up.

"Okay, we both pull," 5 instructed. "Get a good grip, Two!"

"The water's rising, boys!" 2 said, sounding more frantic this time.

"Oh, no," said 6, grabbing the rope. 0 and 5 grabbed some, too, and together they made short work of heaving 2 back up to shore.

"Two!" 5 practically screamed, launching himself into 2's arms. 2 made an 'oof' noise as he caught him, but caught him nonetheless. 6 laughed as he watched the reunion, and even 0 smiled.

"Your patch, Five," said 2, pulling back and touching the (now blown-out) leather patch on 5's face.

"The monster, when my soul was…taken," said 5, looking perplexed again. "He ripped it." He thought for a moment, and then turned to 0. "I'm sorry, I don't think we were introduced. I'm Five."

'My name's Zero,' 0 signed, then shook 5's hand.

"Zero," 6 translated, and then signed and said, "She's deaf."

"Can we fix it?" asked 5.

"No," 6 replied. He looked at 0 and made the screw-turning gesture again. 0 pressed the tips of the fingers on each hand together and moved one hand towards herself, then away, as the other hand did the opposite. "Fix," 6 said as he repeated the sign. 0, abashed, looked away.

"So she was made first," said 5. "How did I not meet her?"

'I hid on the shelf after I met One,' 0 signed, still not quite meeting his eye. 'I figured no one would care about me, since I'm useless.'

"Stop," 6 signed and said. 0 looked up at him and, since he had no other way of communicating, took her hand and squeezed it. He looked back up at 2 and 5. "One said she was useless. The Scientist said the same thing when I tried to tell him about her."

"That's terrible," said 2, sounding slightly shocked. He patted 0's shoulder and she looked up at him. "You're among friends now," he said. She turned to 6 and he touched the tips of his index fingers together twice. 0 looked back at 2 and smiled genuinely, her lip quivering, before throwing herself into 2's arms and holding him tightly.

"She likes you," said 6 confidently as 2 rubbed 0's back.

"The feeling is mutual," 2 said kindly. After a moment, 0 quickly pulled away and straightened herself, looking embarrassed over her sudden show of emotion. 2 chuckled.

"Well, we need to find the others," 5 said, trying to smooth down the hole in his face as much as possible. "Did anyone see where they went?"

'One, Three, Four, Seven, Nine?' 6 signed.

0 nodded and pointed across the now defunct bridge.

They all stared across for a long moment. Finally, 2 said, "Well. Let's get going."

* * *

><p>This story is such a fun excuse to practice my signing (and to practice writing from the point of view of a deaf person). Message me if you're confused about any of the signs and I'll send you a video.<p> 


	3. We're Doors

I'm really enjoying this relationship between 0 and 6, as evidenced in this chapter.

* * *

><p>They walked for close to an hour before the rain got too heavy for them to move safely.<p>

"Where do you think they could be?" asked 5, looking at 2.

"I couldn't tell you," said 2, searching for something he could use as a cane. He finally found a discarded ballpoint pen cap and tested his weight on that, deciding after a moment that it would do (despite its digging into his palm uncomfortably).

"Go back to the source," 6 murmured. "Go back to the source. He told them."

"Where's the source?" 5 gently asked, but 6 only shook his head like a horse flicking away a fly.

0 remained silent, not even signing. She kept her eyes trained ahead, sporadically glancing at the men she was walking with. She rarely moved ahead or dropped back for fear that she wouldn't be able to hear danger coming. Occasionally 6 would reach out and take her hand, and when he did, she found comfort in his warm (if distracted) grasp.

"I wonder if Nine made it," 5 wondered quietly after a few minutes.

"I have no doubt he did," 2 replied brusquely, wiping a bit of water from the top of his optical. "He's a strong one, that Nine. Clever, too."

"You don't resent that he killed you?" 5 asked, surprised.

"Oh, my boy," said 2 fondly, patting his prodigy's shoulder. "When you live to be as old and happy as I have, when you've been given as many second chances as I have, you don't harbor resentment. It's a waste of time and of energy."

"One's older," said 6 suddenly. 2 stared at him with mild shock on his face; you could never tell what that doll was going to say. "He's mean. Hates us all."

"No he doesn't," said 2 gently. "He's just…bitter. That happens sometimes. People get jaded, and then…." He sighed, thinking back to when 1 sent him away so long ago. "People are all different. One reacted worse to age than I did."

"What about Zero?" 5 asked. "She's the oldest of us all. And she's terrified of all of us. Of everything."

"Zero strikes me as an anomaly similar to the twins," 2 said, studying 0. 0 could feel his gaze on her, but didn't meet it. "I believe she's younger than us mentally, but older physically. I would guess she was as old, mentally, as Seven."

"Seven?" asked 6, perking up.

"I'm sure she's fine, too," said 2 reassuringly. "Tough as nails, that one. And I'm betting she took care of the twins."

"Took care of?" asked 6, not demanding, just curious.

"Ah," said 2, rubbing his chin with his free hand. "How to put this…when there's someone you love, you make sure they stay safe. Like we did for you when your mind came…unhinged."

"Like a door," said 6, grinning.

"Exactly," said 2, pleased he was getting through. "Speaking of which, Six, you seem much better. You're talking in ideas again. None of that source business."

6's eyes clouded over and he took 0's hand again. "Source is…gone," he said, waving his free hand like he was dismissing the source entirely. "Done. Took care of what it needed to…brought us back…done. It's done now."

"That's good," said 5.

0 tugged 6's hand. He looked down at her and she looked up at him with a question in her eyes. She held up the hand that wasn't holding 6's and signed, 'OK?'

6 nodded and squeezed her hand reassuringly. This seemed to be enough for her and she turned her head back to look at her feet again.

A very large raindrop struck 5 on the back of the head. "We should find shelter for the night," he said, looking back up at the sky.

"A good idea," said 2. "We won't get very far if the ground is muddy and impassable." He scanned the destruction for a moment, and then his eyes settled on a very large can off to the side of the chasm they were skirting. "Let's go see if that's empty."

When 6 began tugging 0 over to the can, 0 tugged back. "What?" 6 asked, coming back over.

0 pointed off around the chasm, then released 6's hand and signed, 'What are you doing? We can make it around!'

6 got the gist of what she was saying and pointed at the can. "We need sleep," he said, miming as he did. "And the rain," he added, pointing at the sky.

'One, Three, Four, Seven, Nine!' 0 signed frantically.

"They'll be okay," he said, trying to think of a way to impart this to her. He resorted to flailing his arms in his approximation of saying 'Tomorrow. We'll find them tomorrow.' This only managed to confuse 0, until a light bulb clicked in 6's head. He frantically looked around, his eyes finally settling on a discarded safety pin. He jogged over, unclipped it, and scratched the word 'Tomorrow' into the dirt at 0's feet.

Understanding flashed in 0's eyes as she signed, 'OK'. 6 took her hand once more and led her over to the can.

"It looks clean enough," said 5, tapping the sides of the can.

"The question is weather it'll protect us from the machines or not," said 2, looking mistrustfully at the skyline.

0 looked at 6 and he raised his arms, gnashing his teeth and trying to look as terrifying as possible while inadvertently looking as silly as possible, too. 0 smiled a rare smile and shook her head.

"If we're quiet, it shouldn't be a problem," said 5, laughing at 6's impression as well.

The rain began falling thicker and faster. "Come on, come on," said 2, ushering them into the can. Each pair took a seat on opposite sides of it (though there really was no need to balance their weight, the can was so sunken into the ground).

After a moment, 5 shuffled on his knees to the edge of the can. "This is amazing," he said, looking up at the now quickly dropping rain. "What did you say this was, Two?"

"Rain," said 2, shuffling over as well. "I've only seen it once before. Before the gas was detonated. It was amazing, but as I recall—" a crack of thunder suddenly rumbled the ground, "very loud."

At the sudden, violent vibration of the thunder 0 scrambled backwards and slammed herself against the back of the can, her hands splayed out and clutching the wall. She looked around, terrified, for a moment before realizing they were in no discernable danger and forcing her hands off the wall and over her chest, trying to slow the rapidly spinning gear in her chest, before making herself look up.

Of course, 6 was right in front of her, concern flooding his mismatched eyes. He held up the sign for her name, putting his other hand on her shoulder.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,' 0 frantically signed, her hands still shaking. 'I thought it was something out there, I thought there was another thing out there and I hadn't heard it, I hadn't heard it _again_—'

"Stop, stop," 6 signed and said before taking 0 and hugging her firmly. 0 held him tight as well, trying desperately still to calm her nerves. 6 slid his arm behind her legs and sat, resting his back on the back of the can and placing the still shaking 0 in his lap. 2 and 5 watched on in curiosity as 6 began stroking her back with one hand, holding her waist firmly with the other, as she unclenched each nerve individually.

"Is she okay?" 2 asked, crawling over as well.

"Vibrations," 6 said softly, moving the hand that had been rubbing 0's back to the back of her head. "Scary."

"I didn't even think of that," said 5, sitting beside 6. "It must be _startling_, to say the least."

"This is a side of you I haven't seen before, Six," said 2, giving 6 an encouraging smile. At 6's confused look, he added, "Normally it's you who needs someone to take away the outside."

"The outside," said 6 carefully, trying to gather his thoughts, "is okay. Not bad…anymore. Zero." He paused again, then gave 0 a squeeze. "Zero is a door. I take care of her."

"A door?" asked 5, confused.

"She's…_unhinged_," said 6, finally remembering the word. "Not like me. Like her."

"Not connected," 2 tried to translate. "She's not quite fully connected to the world, because she can't hear. Like you and your mind aren't really connected to the world."

"Yes," 6 said, smiling at 2, pleased he got it. "We're doors. And I…I…." He stopped for a moment, trying to remember what 2 had said, finally settling on repeating, "I take care of her."

"That's wonderful, Six," said 2, carefully resting his back on the curved part of the can. "I'm very proud of you."

6 beamed, then looked down at 0, only to discover she was sound asleep. He looked back up at 2, his eyebrows drawn together.

"She's tired," said 5, shrugging. "She must not've gotten a lot of sleep lately. We were gone for days, and she followed you, right? I bet she hardly slept at all."

6 looked back down at the blue-jean ragdoll in his arms, his imagination crafting images of her diving off the side of the cliff after him, and holding him for ages, thinking he was dead and not able to bring him back. He smiled, a little sadly, and kissed the top of her head. 0 moved slightly, and inwardly 6 panicked, thinking he'd woken her up, but she only sighed and turned closer to him, her knees tucked against his chest, her head on his shoulder. After remaining still as a stone for a moment more, 6 relaxed, allowing himself to fall asleep holding her.

2 and 5 watched the moment with a quiet kind of wonder. "Interesting," 2 finally said. "Perhaps Six has someone who understands him."

"It's good that she can't hear," said 5, chuckling softly. "Or she'd think he was as crazy as we do."

2 was silent for another moment, then said, seriously, "Maybe that's why she understands him. Because she can't hear him."

"How so?"

"When Six talks, he doesn't sound…healthy," 2 said tactfully.

"Crazy," 5 said bluntly.

"For lack of a better word. But Zero can't hear that. She sees his inner self better than we can, because she doesn't hear the outside. She's known him for longer than anyone else has, and yet look at them." 2 swept his hand to indicate 0 still curled against the sleeping 6. "She doesn't care that he's unhinged, because she is, too."

"Well, goodness knows he deserves it," said 5, yawning. "He's put up with so much…when all he wanted to do was save us." 5's head finally dipped to his chest and back up. "I'm sorry, Two. I guess being resurrected took a lot out of me."

"Not to worry," said 2, smiling benevolently. "I'll take the first watch. You get some rest." 5 nodded and lay on his side, curling himself up and falling asleep quickly.

2 regarded the sleeping dolls for a moment before turning to take first watch and murmuring, "I can only hope she can save him."


	4. Seven

This is the fastest I've written a story. Things get exciting in this chapter.

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><p>0 woke in 6's arms.<p>

She blearily opened one optical, then another, carefully blinking them before stretching slightly. She looked around for a moment, unsure of where she was, when she finally felt 6's chest rise and fall gently against her side, and saw his arms still wrapped around her. She slowly removed them, careful not to wake him or kick the sleeping 5 at her feet, and went to the lip of the can where 2 sat.

"Ah, hello," said 2, giving her a small wave. "Come to take over?"

With a small smile, 0 pointed to her audio sensors.

"Of course," 2 murmured. He held up six fingers and 0 shook her head, then he held up five and she shook her head again. "Well, someone needs to keep watch with you," he said, laughing.

0 thought for a moment, then held up her middle three fingers. Seeing 2's confused look, she amended it to six fingers.

"That's what I thought," said 2, standing. He patted her shoulder and hobbled to the back to wake up 6.

0 stared out at the muddy ground and still falling rain, seating herself on her knees. After a moment she felt several soft vibrations in the can reminiscent of footsteps—and when she turned, 6 was there. He waved and sat next to her, cross-legged. 0 averted her gaze.

'I'm sorry,' 0 signed after a moment. She looked at 6 and saw him looking at her in confusion. 'And I know you can't understand me,' she continued, looking away again, 'but I wanted to apologize anyways. For not being able to help and just…being useless. If I could fix myself, I would, but—' She was stopped by 6's hand on her arm.

"Fix?" 6 asked, repeating the sign she'd taught him earlier. 0 nodded. "Fix you?" 0 nodded again. 6 thought for a moment, then signed, as well as he could, "You don't…need fixing." He pointed at her, then gave her a thumbs-up. "You're good."

0 smiled again, looking back at her knees. 6 stared at her for a moment, studying her, when he saw the hand on her knee twitch. More out of curiosity than anything, he took it, fitting his pen-nib fingers between her copper ones. 0 fought her desire to beam with happiness, instead settling on leaning against 6, resting her head on his shoulder. 6 stared at her for a moment more. What was this he was feeling? This desire to protect her, to keep her safe from all the evils of the world. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her like he had last night, to never let go of her hand. He'd never felt this before.

Abruptly, 6 stood, pulling 0 up with him. "Come on," he said, exiting the can. He felt his shoulder jerk and saw 0 still in the can, a look of fear on her face. She shook her head violently.

"C'mon, it's okay, now," said 6, turning back and taking her other hand as well. 0 continued shaking her head as 6 pulled her, gently, out of the can…one step…then another…and then she was in the rain.

0 looked around in shock, whipping her head around to take in everything and look for any danger that might be here in the scary outside world. Another crack of thunder rumbled the ground and 0 yelped, throwing herself into 6's arms. 6 laughed and tripped backwards, bringing himself and 0 down into the mud. 0 sputtered and leapt back up, while 6 only laughed and sat up on his elbows.

Suddenly a light-colored creature dove out of the shadows and tackled 0, sending them both spinning to the ground. 0 screamed as the creature took a knife from its back and held it against 0's neck. "Who are you?" demanded the creature. "What do you want?"

0 only flailed, signing desperately, which didn't seem to endear this creature to her. The being pressed the knife closer to her neck. "Stop!" 6 screamed. "Who are you?"

"How did you reanimate him?" the thing demanded. "He was _dead_! Are you a machine? Some sort of demon?"

0 finally realized signing was useless and turned her head to the side, exposing her neck and hoping it wouldn't hurt too badly.

"_Seven_?"

The creature's killing blow was stayed for a moment by the word. She stood, planting the blade in the ground a centimeter from 0's neck and turned her head slightly to see 5 and 2 standing at the lip of the can, looking at her in disbelief. The sight of them caused her to roar and grab her knife, violently plunging it into 0's chest. However, it didn't get very far before 6 attacked her, knocking her helmet off and sending her to the ground.

"Why?" screamed 6, confused and upset that 7 would hurt his friend. "_Seven! Why?_" 7 raised her spear, but 6 snatched it and threw it aside, gripping her wrists and slamming them on the ground. "_Why did you hurt Zero?_"

"Five, get Zero," 2 instructed quickly. 5 nodded and went to bring 0 inside. "Six! Six, get off her!"

"No!"

"Six, get off!" 7 sputtered.

"_You hurt Zero!_"

"Truce! Truce!" 2 cried, coming between 6 and 7 and prying them apart. "Both of you _stop_!"

6 forced himself off 7 and stood, going to 7's spear and snapping it in half over his knee. "Six!" 7 gasped as she stood. "Why did you do that?"

"You. _Hurt._ Zero," said 6 dangerously before realizing what he'd said. "Zero," he repeated, spinning around and looking for her. "Zero!"

"Five has her, inside," 2 said gently, poking 6 towards the can. 6 took off inside. 2 watched him for a moment, then turned to 7, smiling slightly. "It's good to see you, my dear."

"I-I didn't—" 7 stammered, collecting the pieces of her spear. "Who is that? How are you alive?"

"Why did you attack her?" 2 asked calmly.

"It looked like she was attacking Six," said 7, still sounding confused. "She pushed him down. She was standing over him—I thought she'd hurt him. And then I thought, you all are—were—dead: maybe she reanimated you. Like the seamstress."

"Ah," said 2, understanding coming to his face. "I can see why you'd think that."

"How are you alive?" 7 repeated firmly. "I saw you die. I saw your soul…."

"Really?" said 2, sounding captivated. "Fascinating. What happened?"

"Nine and the twins and I made a circle with your names on posts," said 7, remembering. "Then Nine pressed the combination on the source and it opened. You all came out…but you weren't you, you were translucent, and green. And you said goodbye—and then you went into the sky. And it started to rain." She stared at 2. "We had a funeral for you. We mourned for all of you. How are you alive?"

"It is my theory," said 2, touching 7's shoulder and leading her towards the can, "that those were in fact the essences of our souls that had been taken, but not destroyed. Trapped, as it were. When you released us, we went into the clouds and, in the form of rain, found our old bodies. I'm afraid I can't remember it, though."

"So who's she?" asked 7, stopping just outside the can. She wasn't quite ready to see 6 again.

"Her name is Zero," said 2. "She's the first. The oldest of us all."

"Why hasn't she spoken to us before?" 7 demanded, crossing her arms. "Why hasn't she spoken _at all_?"

"She's deaf," said 2 gently. "She doesn't know how to speak. She's never heard anyone else speak."

He watched as 7's face fell. "I beat up a deaf girl," 7 said, sounding horrified with herself.

"She's followed us since the beginning," 2 continued. "The only ones who knew she existed were One and Six. One thought she was useless, and Six isn't…all there."

"I _beat up_ a deaf girl," 7 repeated, sitting just outside the can.

"She doesn't think she's worth much, either," sighed 2. "The unfortunate fact is that when you're exposed to such negativity at such a young age, you become negative, yourself."

"I beat up a _deaf girl_," 7 whispered.

"Two, can you help me?" 5 yelled from inside the can. 2 rubbed 7's shoulder encouragingly and went into the can. After a moment, 6 emerged, clutching his hands together. He caught sight of 7 and glared at her, then went off into the destruction.

7 rose gracefully from the ground and followed him. "What're you looking for?" she asked.

"Needle and thread," 6 grumbled, lifting a sheet of metal to look beneath it. "Don't need help."

"I want to help," said 7, climbing up a dilapidated car's wheel to search inside. After a moment, she poked her head back out. "I'm sorry, Six."

6 only glared harder. "You hurt Zero," he spat, continuing to look.

"I thought she was hurting you," 7 said, going back into the car. "I didn't know she was a friend."

6 only glared at her some more, going off to search elsewhere. 7 sighed, then caught sight of a purse on the floor of the car. She dove in, pushing aside gum, a pair of earrings, and finally—aha!—a sewing kit. "Six!" she yelled. "Six, I found some!"

"Help!" she heard 6 yell. At his cry, she grabbed two needles and ran towards his voice.

He wasn't being attacked by anything much, just a spiderbot. 7 made quick work of it, taking its eyes out with her needles before flipping it over and jamming one in a crack in its stomach. Not difficult, not frightening, but she couldn't help but wonder: how many more of them were out there?

She retrieved her needles and held her hand out to 6. 6 stared at it mistrustfully, but took it and got up. "Thank you," he grumbled.

"I'm sorry," 7 repeated, squeezing 6's hand before letting it go.

"Why did you hurt Zero?" 6 asked, more upset than angry.

"I thought she was hurting you," 7 tried to explain, leading him over to the car and climbing into it.

"You protect the twins," 6 tried to explain. "I protect Zero. You hurt her!"

"I don't understand, Six," said 7, handing a spool of white thread and a tiny orange pair of scissors down to him. As an afterthought, she grabbed the thimble and the small bag of buttons, too.

"You left," 6 said accusingly. "It was me…and One…and Eight…and no Zero and you _left_!"

"Five and Two were there, too," 7 said, jumping down.

"Always busy, busy," 6 said, pushing the scissors up his arm so they rested on his shoulder with his arm through one of the thumbholes. "One and Eight…and me."

"I'm sorry," 7 repeated, more guilt piling on. So this is why he was so mad. Besides almost killing his friend, she'd abandoned him because she hadn't thought to take him with her.

"It's not okay," he murmured. 6 settled the spool of thread under his arm and began walking back to the can.


	5. Stopped

I decided 0 needed an accessory and a scar.

* * *

><p>"Got thread!" 6 shouted as he began jogging back to the can. "And needle!"<p>

"Good job, Six," said 2 from where he was seated beside the prone 0. 6 and 7 entered the can, 6 hesitating as he handed over the thread. 7 handed over the needles, too, depositing the thimble on the floor.

"She's…okay?" 6 asked, gripping his key anxiously.

"She will be," said 5 soothingly. "The only problems are restarting some jammed gears and sewing her up."

"Jammed?" asked 6, sitting on the floor by 0's feet.

"The, uh, the blade," said 5, not quite meeting 7's eyes, "caught a gear and she…stopped."

"_Stopped?_"

"She'll be fine," said 2 soothingly. "The stopped gears are why she's out right now. We'll get them started up again and then she'll be all right."

6 glared at 7. "Stopped," he repeated disdainfully.

"I'm gonna go get the others," 7 mumbled, quickly exiting the can.

"You don't have to be so hard on her, Six," 2 said as 5 plunged his hand into 0's insides. "She was only trying to help."

"Stopped," 6 repeated, as though, if he said it enough, 2 would get the magnitude of the situation.

"I know, Six," 2 said soothingly as he threaded the needle. "But still. Be a little nicer. She didn't know."

"Found it!" said 5, sounding pleased as he gripped something inside 0 and began to turn it clockwise. He turned it until it was obvious he was feeling resistance, and then wrenched it up with a pair of 'pop' noises that caused 6's eyes to grow wide with revulsion.

"Count 5," said 2, smiling at their old saying.

"One, two, three, four, five," 5 said, returning the grin. He then swiftly pressed whatever he'd popped out back into place and quickly drew his hand out as 0 sat bolt upright. She took a deep breath in, then winced in pain, doubling over on the rip in her stomach.

"Six, can you get her to lie back?" asked 2. 6 nodded and stood, skirting around 5 and seating himself behind 0. He touched her back, taking her shoulders and gently guiding her back against his knees before taking both of her hands. She looked up at him, pain in her eyes, and he grimaced, his irritation at 7 coming back tenfold. He bent down and kissed her forehead again, and then 2 began sewing.

0 made no noise, only screwed her eyes shut and gripped 6's hands tightly. Fortunately, 2 had a steady hand and a quick stitch, and finished in a matter of minutes. With a hasty 'snip', 0 was fixed, only slightly worse for the wear.

"Good," 6 murmured, giving 0's hands a small squeeze. "You're good."

5 stood and offered his hands to 0. "Let's see if that's all the damage there is," he said as 0 accepted and stood. She walked haltingly for a moment, never letting go of 6's hand, before apparently deciding she was okay and walking the length of the can. Relief washed over 6's face.

"You're good," he repeated, releasing her hands to sign. "You…stopped."

'Stopped?' 0 repeated, her optics going wide. 'Like, I died?'

"Stopped," was all 6 could say. He hugged her again, then snatched the thimble from the floor and placed it on her head. 0 looked up at it and smiled. "So you will be safe…if you fall," 6 said, knowing she couldn't hear him. However, it didn't seem to matter: 0 stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek anyways. 6 stood there, dumbstruck, his hand on his cheek, for a moment, before breaking into the stupidest looking grin 0'd ever seen.

"Are you sure, Seven?" they suddenly heard a male voice ask. "I mean…maybe you're just tired. It's been a hard few days."

"I know what I saw," 7 repeated, sounding exhausted. "I talked to them…I almost killed one of them!"

5's face burst into a wide grin. "Nine!" he yelled, running out of the can and skidding to a stop when he saw his friend there. 9's face contorted into an expression of both glee and terror before 5 threw his arms around his neck, hugging him almost violently.

"Five," 9 whispered, before grabbing 5's shoulders and pushing him back slightly, searching his face with his tired optics for some sign that this was, in fact, 5. After a moment, his face split into a grin as well and he returned 5's hug.

The twins peered out from behind 7 and, upon catching sight of 6, ran over and dragged him out of the can, hugging him. "Hi, twins," 6 said happily, putting an arm around each of them.

2 came over to 9 as well, clapping him on the shoulder. "It's good to see you, my boy," said 2, a smile on his weathered mouth.

"You don't…you still like me?" asked 9, releasing 5 and giving the old man a perplexed look.

"Of course!" said 2, laughing. "You saved us all, in the end."

The only person seemingly exempt from this reunion was 0, staying at the lip of the can, clutching her hands together. After all, 9 was a hero—what would he want to do with a useless doll like herself? 'A useless doll who can't even defend herself,' she thought as she ran a hand over her new scar.

7 saw this and came over to 0's side. "Hi," she said sheepishly after a moment of silence. After a moment of no acknowledgement from 0, 7 remembered that 0 couldn't hear her (and probably hadn't seen her come over), so she stepped around.

Seeing her attacker seemingly materialize out of thin air was nearly too much for 0, who let out a small screech and stumbled backwards, landing hard on her rump. "No, no, no," said 7, reaching her hands out, but the gesture only served to terrify 0 further and she scuttled back to the rear of the can, her pupils contracting into pinpricks as she focused on 7, wheezing and gripping the wall. Her new hat tipped so it touched the tops of her optics, but didn't fall.

The screech was enough to draw the attention of most of the dolls, and the slam against the back of the can drew the attention of the rest. "Stop!" said 6, rushing past 7 and to the back of the can, where he knelt beside 0. "Breathe, breathe," he said steadily, holding her face in his hands.

'She's here to kill me!' 0 signed desperately, trying to get the message through. 'She did it before!'

3 flashed his optics at 0 and she looked up. 'Seven tried to kill you?' he signed.

Everyone stared at 3 for a moment, after which 0 signed, 'You know the Quiet Language?'

'We both do,' 4 signed.

'We know most languages.'

'Why did Seven try to kill you?'

'Ask her,' said 0, staring at 7, still horrified.

"I didn't mean to kill her!" 7 said desperately. "I thought she'd reanimated them, like the seamstress. It looked like she was attacking 6!"

'She thought you were attacking 6,' 3 signed. 'She thought you were evil.'

'I'm not!'

'She knows, now,' 4 signed. 'She didn't before.'

0 looked at 7 mistrustfully for a moment more, then stood, bringing 6 up with her and adjusting her hat. She held her hands up, hesitated, then finally signed, 'My name's 0.' She stuck her hand out, her shoulders contracting and her optics looking away, as if she thought 7 would hit her again.

"Hi," 7 said, smiling and taking 0's hand. 0 cringed, but after a moment of no violence, slowly shook 7's hand.

"Smashing!" said 2 excitedly. "I knew we'd be able to build bridges if we tried!"

"Great," said 9, coming over beside 7 and holding his hand out as well. 0 shook it, awed. "What's your name?"

0 looked at the twins and they both held up the index and middle fingers of their hands, tapping one pair on top of the other. 'Zero,' 0 replied, twisting around to show them the long oval with a line through it on her back. The twins ran over and began cataloguing it, moving onto her feet, her five fingers, her hat, and the scar on her stomach. 0 laughed the whole time. Finally, satisfied, they moved back, sticking out their hands as well. 0 shook them both.

"So you can understand her?" 6 asked as he took 0's hand and led her (and the rest of the dolls) out of the can.

3 and 4 clicked at each other for a moment, then 4 scuttled to the side of the can and began projecting a video, with 3 providing the audio.

The video started with a man in a suit jacket with a handlebar mustache entered and sat in a cushy-looking chair and smiled at them. "Hello, my name is Leonard M. Elstad," he began, signing as he spoke. 0 breathed in sharply. "I am the president of Gallaudet College, located in Washington D.C. We are the first university for the deaf in this great nation." He smiled warmly at the camera. "I am an advocate of sign language," he said. 0 repeated the sign slowly, spinning her index fingers around each other then making her hands into 'L's, connecting the thumbs, and bringing them apart. Sign language. Beautiful. "I understand the value of speech training," the man continued, "but also realize it will not be a large help to the profoundly deaf."

'Profoundly deaf,' 0 repeated. 'Me.'

"As our founder said so long ago, the same arguments which go to show that knowledge is power, that the condition of a people is improved in proportion as the masses are educated, have their application with equal weight to the deaf," he continued. 0 was rapt. "I therefore extend an invitation to every deaf man and woman that so desires a higher education to come to my university, where you will not only be an equal, you will be supported, and nurtured." Words faded onto the bottom of the screen as the man smiled: 'Leonard M. Elstad, 1950'.

0 hesitatingly moved forward and rested her hand on the image of this man's face. So…there had been others, like her, out there. Profoundly deaf. 'There was a school?'

'And textbooks,' 3 signed as 4 shut off the video. 'That's where we learned to sign. There are plenty in the library.'

'There's a library?' 0 signed, her face perking up.

'Where we live,' 4 signed. 'Where you can live, too.'

"What are they saying?" 7 asked.

"Books," said 6, still watching the exchange with great interest. "Something about books."

"The library," said 9, also watching the exchange curiously. "They must be telling her about it."

After another minute of silent conversation, 6 approached 0, touching her shoulder. She turned around and he put his palms together, and opened them out like a book. 0 took his hands and nodded. 6 smiled broadly. "She's coming with us!"

"With you," said 2, giving 6 a gentle smile. This only caused 6 to smile harder, if that was possible. "What about One?"

"Do you think he's alive?" asked 9. "He…I mean, I have a lot to thank him for."

"Really?" asked 2, sounding deeply interested. "Perhaps you can tell me about it while we try to find him."

"Sure," said 9 easily, beginning the story and the trek to where he knew 1 had fallen. The others gathered up their things and somehow fell into a neat line behind him: 2 trotting beside 9, 5 listening behind him and fiddling with the pair of needles, 3 and 4 following him as they tangled themselves up in the thread, 7 keeping an eye on the twins, and 6 and 0 in the rear, the scissors on his shoulder and the thimble on her head, their hands together, like always.


	6. The Library

Shorter than the others. Sorry about the wait, I had a date last night. Should be able to catch up tomorrow.

I love 2 almost as much as I love 6. Can you tell?

* * *

><p>"Well, this is where he fell," 9 said as the party drew closer to where 1 had been taken by the machines, "but I don't see him."<p>

"One!" 2 yelled. "Come on, you old coot, if I'm alive I'll bet you are, too!"

"Maybe he's not here," said 7, gracefully leaping from wreckage to wreckage, peeking under metal and lifting the heavier things.

"He could've gone back to the library," 5 suggested.

"That he could've," said 2, rubbing his chin. "Or…"

"Or what?" 9 asked, raising an eyebrow.

2 leaned heavily on his makeshift cane and stared into the distance, towards the one smokestack that still stood. "Or he could have gone back to the factory."

"Why would he do that?" asked 7, tipping her helmet up and looking at 2 questioningly.

"Because of Eight," said 5, understanding seeping into his face as well as he handed one of the two needles to 2. "He would have thought that, since he was alive, Eight would be, too."

0 had been clutching 6's hand tighter since they'd arrived at the place, and now she released it to sign, 'What are they saying?'

6 motioned the twins over. "They can't find One," he said, and the twins signed for him. 6 was grateful for their help, but inside, he was secretly a little disappointed, as well. Now their conversations wouldn't be so private.

'Library?'

"Maybe," 6 shrugged. "Maybe the factory. For Eight."

0 watched the twins sign, and then her eyebrows contracted. 'Burned,' she signed, her splayed fingers dancing around each other.

"Yes," said 6, signing for himself. "One…and Eight…." He tried to articulate his thoughts, but got lost. With the lull in the conversation, the twins grew bored and scurried off to catalogue.

0 watched 6 for a moment, and then took his hand again. 'One and Eight,' she signed with her free hand, then held up two fingers and rocked them back and forth, pointing at her and 6. 'Like you and me.'

"Not quite," said 6, smiling at her. "But close."

"We can split up to look for them," said 9. "Half head back to the library, half go to the factory."

"No offense," said 7, looking at 2 with a wry smile on her face, "but I think we'll want the most able bodied people to come to the factory. There may still be machines there."

"No offence taken," said 2, smiling back at her. "The twins, Zero and I will head back to the library."

"Zero?" asked 6, gripping her hand tighter.

"She'll not be very useful in a fight, 6," said 7 gently. "If it comes to that. _You_ will. I've seen you fight." She rubbed her wrists.

"I—I don't—" 6 tried to articulate, not sure himself why this idea upset him so much.

"Think of it this way," said 2, placing a hand on 6's arm. "Wouldn't you rather keep Zero safe by separating for a few hours than take her with you and potentially harm her?"

6 mulled it over for a moment, and then said, "I…take care of her."

"Yes, I know."

"So…if I go…I'm taking care of her?"

"That's correct."

6 thought for another minute. "Okay," he finally said. He looked at the twins, then said as they signed, "I'm going with them. You go with Two. Okay?"

'What?' 0 said, frantically signing. 'You're going to the factory? What if there are monsters?'

"I take care of you," 6 repeated, as thought it were the simplest thing in the world, taking her shoulders and pressing his lips against her forehead again. 0 threw her arms around him, squeezing him for a long moment before finally letting go.

'Be safe,' 0 signed, her movements small, as though they were difficult for her. 'Come back.'

6 nodded and squeezed her hands again before joining the group going to the factory. "Are you okay, Six?" asked 5, looking at his friend with concern.

"Zero…will be safe," said 6 haltingly. "If Zero is safe…I'm okay."

With that statement, the two groups separated, 5, 6, 7, and 9 heading off to the factory and 0, 2, 3, and 4 going to the library. As they walked, 0 stared over her shoulder, not caring when she stumbled, until she could no longer see the mop of striped hair.

* * *

><p>After walking in silence for a while (the twins twittering to each other and 0 staring at the needle 2 had given her to hold onto) 2 chuckled. "I suppose it's going to be very quiet for a while," he said with a smile. The twins flashed their eyes at him in an approximation of a laugh, and then translated for 0.<p>

0 smiled half-heartedly and rubbed her right fist on her chest.

"Sorry," said 2, repeating the sign. "Nothing to be sorry for. Just an observation." After another few minutes of walking, 3 and 4 saw the library ahead and scuttled forward, excited to be home.

"I'm eager to see what they've done with the place," he said to 0 (but secretly to no one in particular). 0 nodded like she could hear him and 2 laughed. "You don't have to pretend for me," he said. Of course, she only slightly raised her eyebrows and nodded more, which made 2 laugh harder.

Abruptly he spotted 3 and 4 running back, panic in their eyes. "What, what is it?" asked 2, his smile morphing into a look of concern. But 3 and 4 didn't have time for questions; they each grabbed one of their elders by the wrist and pulled them into the building. 0 tripped, once, and 2 moved too slowly for 4's taste, but they got into the building quickly and saw what had bothered the twins so much.

On the pile of books at the entrance, lying in a crumpled heap, was 1, looking very damaged and close to death. Something had opened a long gash down his arm, pulled a metal rod out of place and through the cloth in his thigh, and cracked one of his optics. However, worst of all, his fingers were mangled: like they'd been caught in something and torn asunder. Some were intact, but dented, some were missing their top one or two joints, and his right middle finger was gone altogether. 0 grabbed her thimble and pulled it lower with both hands as 2 rushed over to 1.

2 carefully turned him over and put his head on 1's chest to listen for a moment. "He's alive," he finally said, lifting his head and looking at them, "but only just. I can fix him up and let him rest…but that's really all I can do."

'Are his gears jammed?' 0 asked, kneeling by 1 as well. At 2's confused look, she pushed her fingers together and pulled them against each other.

"No, just…slow," said 2 to the twins, who translated for him. He grabbed the piece of metal sticking out of 1's leg and wrenched it back into place, eliciting a wince from the observing dolls but no obvious reaction from 1. 2 then quickly threaded his needle and sewed up the gash in the leg before bringing his attention to 1's arm.

"3, shine some light in here," he said, gesturing the child over as he peeled back the cloth. 3 obeyed and 2 stared in, taking inventory. "Well, nothing's missing," he said, sounding pleased, as he tied a knot in the end of his thread and began sewing up 1's arm. "That's good, at least."

Across from him, 0 looked at 2 and stroked her right index finger with her left thumb and index finger. "I don't know what to do about those," said 2 sadly, picking up 1's hand and touching the fingers. "If we could only get back to the cathedral, I have supplies there—" 0 danced her fingers around each other again. "I see," said 2 sadly. "Well. I suppose I can fix the whole ones now, and over the next week or so, I could make new ones. Still…they'll never be as nice."

0 nodded and stood, walking off to the side and sitting on a book as she watched 2 pop whatever fingers he could back into place. After a few quiet minutes, filled only with the sounds of metal clicking against metal, he stood.

"Three, Four, will you pick him up and take him inside?" 2 said quietly, rolling the thread he hadn't used around the spool. The twins, who had been huddled together in a corner, flashed their eyes and nodded, darting over to 1 and putting an arm around each of his shoulders and lugging him into the library.

0 crept up to 2 and tapped his shoulder. 'One's…okay?' she signed when he turned around.

0 expected a nod, maybe even a smile. However, 2 only shrugged and looked down. "I haven't even looked at his main wiring," he said quietly. "He could be okay…but I don't know."

0 hesitated, then put her hand on 2's shoulder. After a moment of letting it rest there (a moment of 0 thinking she'd done something wrong and being too scared to fix it; a moment of 2 being too distracted by his worries to say or do anything), 2 put his hand on top of it. "Thank you, my dear," he said, looking down at 0 with kindness shining in his eyes.

Relief washed over 0 as 2 held his arms out, and she hugged him, letting him hold her until he felt he could stay strong, for 1, for the twins, and for this little deaf doll he hardly knew.


	7. The Lair of the Beasts

Longest chapter yet. Hopefully you'll see why.

* * *

><p>The sun was high in the sky when the scouting party arrived at the now decimated factory.<p>

"Where should we look first?" asked 9.

"Maybe we should just call for him," said 7, climbing to the top of a sheet of metal jutting out of the ground. She cupped her hands around her mouth and breathed in, but barely had a chance to utter a single syllable before 5 ran forward and grabbed her leg.

"Are you crazy?" he demanded, his one optic going wide. "There could still be machines here! If they hear you yelling, we're dead!"

"Mon-monsters," said 6, picking through a scrap pile with one hand and gripping his key with the other. "I don't…I don't know…."

"What is it, 6?" asked 9 gently.

6 shook his head. "Something here…is alive. Two things. But, I don't…don't know." He looked at 9 dolefully. "Sorry."

9 smiled. "You did great," he said, rubbing 6's shoulder. He turned to the others. "Six says there are two things alive around here."

"Do you know who?" asked 7, jumping down. "Or what?"

6 clicked his pen-nib fingers together, staring at the ground. "Don't know," he said. "Could be two whats…or two whos."

"Two whos?" asked 7, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't think there are more of us, do you?" asked 9.

"You said he died after making you," said 5, his brow furrowed. "I don't think there are more of us. But…maybe…."

"What?"

5 looked up at him, his optics filled with a combination of hope and dread. "Maybe Eight's still alive."

"No," said 6, his optics snapping open wide. "Nonono. Burned. Dead. No."

"If any of us could survive a death like that, it would be Eight," said 7, rubbing her chin. "Maybe he is still alive."

"No!" said 6 fervently. "Burned up! No place! Dead. Gone."

"Six, stop for a minute," said 9, putting his hand on 6's shoulder. "Think. Put aside your feelings about Eight. Do you think he might be alive?"

6 clicked his fingers against his key, staring at the ground. After a long moment, he said, "Maybe."

"Maybe," 5 repeated. "How?"

"He could have been under something," said 7. "Or buried. Somewhere where the flames couldn't get him."

"Well, let's look for him," said 9, walking forward and beginning to shift the debris around. "Maybe One and Eight are who Six felt."

7 darted ahead and began searching up high, and 5 was about to go and search with 9 when he caught sight of 6. The little doll was digging one of his feet into the ground and staring at his hands, looking upset and lost. 5 walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" he asked, stooping down to look 6 in his optics.

6 nodded, then shook his head. "Don't know," he muttered, as if he was ashamed of himself. "Don't want Eight dead…don't want him alive."

"I get it," said 5, offering him a small smile. "He picked on you. He was mean to you. And since you weren't allowed outside, you couldn't get away."

"One and Eight and me," said 6, repeating what he'd told 7.

5 nodded. "I know," he said gently, "and I'm so sorry 2 was too busy and I was too scared to stick up for you. We should have. And we didn't."

"Seven and Three and Four left," said 6, looking 5 in the optic for the first time in their conversation. "No Zero. Two busy. You scared. I was scared, too!"

"I know, I know," said 5, his voice strained. "I should have helped you. But I didn't. And I'm sorry."

6 stared as 5 for a moment, then sighed. "I guess…that's all to say." He shuffled forward and hugged 5. "Okay. It's okay."

5 breathed a sigh of relief and hugged 6 back. "It won't happen again," said 5 when 6 pulled away. "Things will be different now. We've gotten a second chance; I think we'll all live our lives differently."

"Maybe," said 6 mysteriously, wandering away to search for 8.

They searched for a good hour before they found something. The scouting-turned-rescue party had been very careful to be quiet while they looked: after all, to them, this was still the lair of the beasts. 7 managed to find materials to repair her spear and they still found bits of machinery, long pieces of fabric from the balloons, and the birdcage 2 had been held in, now black and twisted, burnt to a crisp.

"If that thing didn't survive," said 7, pushing against the hinged door, "what hope does 8 have?"

"Come on, Seven," said 9, crossing his arms. "You can't judge survival based on one—" He was interrupted by a yelp from 5 below them. "Five!" said 9 frantically, jogging down with 7.

"No, I'm okay," said 5, though he was leaning back and clutching his chest. "It's just, I found—that." He extended a long finger towards a large plastic peach-colored sphere about a foot away. 6, curiosity overcoming him, rushed over and turned it over, the sight eliciting a cry and leap away from him as well.

It slowly rolled over, revealing itself to be the head of the long-dead seamstress, the skull mostly destroyed but the horrifying teeth still dripping red thread and the bright red eye flickering, but mostly still intact. The first to approach was 7, still the bravest of them all. She regarded the fallen beast for a moment, the only one that had managed to capture her, then gave it a swift kick in the skull, deepening the crack already present.

"Seven!" said 9, running to her. "We need to be quiet."

"Hang on," said 7, kicking it a few more times before the skull broke open, revealing the mash of half-burnt machinery inside. She plunged her hands in, dislocating wires and unplugging things before finally, the red eye went dark and rolled out, now no more harmful than a marble. She reached down and took it, rolling it around in her hand for a moment before holding it out to 5. "Maybe you can replace your eye with it," she suggested.

5 held his hands up. "I think I've gotten too used to one eye," he said, laughing nervously.

"A trophy, then," 7 said seriously, unbuttoning her front and stowing the eye inside. She re-buttoned herself and turned to the men. "Maybe Eight is here," she said, grabbing the Seamstress's mutilated skull and pulling it away from the pile of junk behind it. Almost as soon as she did, they saw it.

An arm. The skeletal inside of an arm, but an arm nonetheless. A mostly intact hand, a metal bone forearm, most of a bicep, the very top covered in white fabric, and the body attached hidden under a pile of wreckage.

"Eight!" cried 7, rushing forward and beginning to cast aside the scrap that had crushed 8 during the explosion. The others, after a moment of shock, joined her in freeing 8's trapped body. After a few tense moments of digging, they managed to get him out, dragging his limp body to the clear patch of land beside them.

"Back up a little," said 5, going to his knees and swiftly unbuckling 8's front, revealing the barely ticking machinery inside. "Okay, okay," he murmured, pushing things aside and setting other things spinning, working fervently for a minute before he heard the clicking of optics beside him.

"Wha—" came the deep, confused voice of 8.

"He's alive!" said 7 excitedly. At the sound of 8's voice, 6 had quickly jumped behind 9, making himself as small as possible.

"Quiet," said 5, still fervently working on 8's insides. After another tense moment, during which 5's hands moved faster than any of them had ever seen, 5 sighed and sat back on his heels. "You're alive," he said, disbelieving.

"Yeah," said 8, sounding just as disbelieving. "How?"

"2 thinks it was the rain," said 7. "Do you remember any of it?"

"I remember…being killed," said 8, standing carefully. "That's all."

"Okay, blink for me," said 5, standing as well. 8 did as he was told, beating all of 5's diagnostic tests with flying colors while 7 told him what had happened while he was dead. At least, until he got to his arm. "Can you raise your left arm?"

8 looked down at his left arm for the first time and emitted a low scream from the back of his throat. "What happened to my arm?" he demanded.

"When we exploded the factory," said 7. "The rest of your body must have been covered with the debris, but your arm…burnt."

"Can you move it?" 5 asked again.

8 stared at his arm, a look of consternation coming over his features, before despair and fear overtook them. "No," he said, his voice unnaturally small. "What's wrong with me?"

"Your wiring," said 5 gently. "It burnt up with your fabric. If we can find more wiring, we might be able to fix it, but…" he trailed off.

"But don't hold your breath," said 7 bluntly.

8 stared at his useless arm for a moment, before hardening his face and turning to 5. "Take it off."

"What?"

"Get rid of it," he said bluntly. "It's useless. I don't want it."

"Are you sure?" asked 5, knitting his brow. "I mean, we might be able to fix it."

"When?" 8 demanded. "When we find wiring? When will that be?" He made a noise of derision. "I don't want it hanging on me until then. Get it off."

"Well, okay," said 5 nervously. "Sit back down."

As 8 sat and 5, 7, and 9 began filling him in on everything that had happened thus far, 6 wandered off, his mind not letting him stay in one location for too long. He didn't stray far, only a yard (or so he thought), but when he looked back up, he couldn't see the others. He could hear the low mumble of 7, though, and that was enough for him.

Suddenly, he felt something click against his foot. He looked down and saw several blank pieces of paper hooked onto a feathered lure. He bent and touched them, and they twitched away. He drew his eyebrows together and grabbed at them, and they twitched away again. Now, he knew something was wrong. "Seven?" he called, shuffling towards the papers again. "Nine?"

"What is it, Six?" he heard 9 call, his voice getting closer.

"There's a thing," 6 said, this time touching the papers before they twitched away.

"What thing?" 9 asked, coming up behind him.

"It's papers," 6 murmured, feeling far away as he chased after the papers.

9 stared at the moving papers, confused, for a moment, until something clicked in his brain and his eyes widened. "Six, no!" he yelled as 6 grabbed the papers, pulling them off the hook.

Almost as soon as he did, the pile of refuse he'd been racing towards moved, raising a great, cube-like body out of the rubble, the trademark one red eye of the beasts looming above them ferociously. It looked to be made of a wooden frame covered in netting, with a cone-like hole in its front. A fish reel sat inside the machine, like a spider in its web, the hooks on it gleaming. The beast stood on four spindly legs, one jutting out of each corner. 6 didn't even have time to scream before several fishhooks shot out of the reel, embedding themselves in 6's body and reeling him into its cage of a body. 6 attempted to scramble out, but discovered he couldn't, the pain all over was too much.

"Six!" 5 screamed as he, 7, and 8 ran over.

"Eight, get the legs," said 7, slamming her helmet down and darting up the piles of rubbish, trying to get purchase on the beast's head. Meanwhile, 8, 9, and 5 rushed at the thing's legs, 8 toppling one of them with his sheer brute size and 5 and 9 taking down the other. 6 screamed as the machine fell, ripping a couple of hooks out of his body.

7, who had been crouching in wait for this moment, abruptly leapt down and sliced open the netting that made up the beast's cage. "Come on, Six!" she yelled.

"I—I can't," 6 whimpered, trying to pull himself forward, the four or so hooks still rooted in his body straining.

"How do we kill it?" 7 demanded to her compatriots.

9 quickly scanned the machine before settling on the mass of wires below the cage. "Cut those!" he said. "We'll keep it down!"

7 nodded and rolled down, scaling the machine (not unlike a spider herself) quickly and swinging around one of its back legs, slashing indiscriminately with her spear. The beast bucked violently, nearly sending 7 flying and jostling poor 6 inside of him. After a few seconds of slashing, 7 seemed to sever something vital, for the machine screeched and fell on its forelegs, toppling onto its side before the red eye went dark.

6 screamed again before his cries dissolved into a low sob. When the beast fell, 6 had been left dangling nearly upside-down by a hook in his leg, two in his back, and one in his shoulder. With shaking hands, he began trying to free himself.

"No, Six, no," said 5, holding his hands up. "Seven, go get him down."

7 nodded and climbed back up to 6, dangling upside down herself as she quickly slashed all the lines still connected to 6. He fell to the ground, hard, and lay there, curling himself up, careful not to touch the hooks still embedded in his striped fabric. 7 dropped beside him, a touch more gracefully. "Oh, Six," she said, touching his back as the other three dolls ran over.

"I'm going to try to wiggle them out, okay, Six?" said 5, kneeling beside his fallen companion. He firmly gripped the shank of the hook in his shoulder and tried to slide it out, but the barb caught itself in 6's skin, making him scream and curl up further. "It's really stuck in there, Six," said 5, still working at it.

"Just cut it!" screamed 6, each twist of the hook causing him new pain.

"Can we wait until we get back to the library where there are supplies?" asked 5, lifting 6's head up by its chin to look him in the eye.

"It hurts," 6 whimpered.

"I know, I know," said 5, successfully keeping the tremor out of his voice. "But you've been cut open before. Remember how much that hurt?" 6 nodded tearfully. "Is that pain bigger or littler than this?"

"Bigger," moaned 6. "Now. Except when you touch it."

"Then we're gonna wait until we get back to the library to cut them out, okay?" said 5, making sure 6 understood what was going on. 6 nodded, then curled up again. 5 stood. "Eight, can you carry him over your shoulder?" he asked. "Gently."

8 nodded and, uncharacteristically tenderly, lifted 6 with his one remaining arm and placed him stomach-side down on his shoulder. 6 didn't react to this except to cry out in his small voice when he was settled again. "Go slow?" 8 asked 5.

"As fast as is comfortable for him," said 5 gravely. "We'll keep up."

8 nodded curtly and set off, at a brisk pace, towards the library. 7 dashed ahead and 9 kept up the back, looking around for any more machines. 5, unsure of what he could do to make this any easier for 6, reached up and took 6's hand, squeezing it gently. It wasn't 0's hand, he knew, but maybe the gesture would comfort him.

Behind them, in the lair of the beasts, something shifted in the darkness.

* * *

><p>Think lobster traps.<p> 


	8. Scars

Much love to my reviewers, PoppyECM.6-13 and SkullWitch57. Seriously. You have no idea how much help it is to be writing for someone besides myself.

I am very excited for the next chapter.

* * *

><p>0 stared out at the sky as the sun sank below the horizon, her heart sinking with it. The search party had been gone far too long, now, and she was beginning to get concerned (that was a lie, she'd started panicking hours ago, but telling herself she was just 'beginning to get concerned' provided a bit of false comfort).<p>

3, seeing 0's distress, came over. 'What is it?' he signed, tilting his head to the side, a bit like a bird.

'The sun's setting,' 0 replied, looking out at the horizon with concern. 'What could be keeping them?'

'The factory is farther from where we started than the library is,' 3 signed soothingly.

'I wouldn't be surprised if they stayed there for the night,' signed 4, seeing her brother talking to 0 and scampering over.

'It's that far?' 0 asked.

The twins clicked their optics at each other, then 3 signed, 'Half a day.'

'At least,' 4 added.

This seemed to relax 0 somewhat. 'Thanks,' she signed, touching her chin and bringing her hand out. With that, she sat on the book she had been standing on, drawing her knees up to her chest and tipping her hat back somewhat. 4 looked at 3 and jerked her head, sending her brother off to help 2.

4 sat beside 0 and tapped her shoulder. When 0 looked over, she signed, 'Are you in love with 6?'

'What?' asked 0, her optics going wide. 'What gave you that idea?'

'He loves you,' signed 4 simply. 'I wondered if you loved him.'

'He doesn't love me,' signed 0, smiling slightly and looking down.

'He tackled 7 after she attacked you,' 4 signed, maneuvering herself to sit in front of 0. 'He's never fought anything before.'

'Really?' 0 signed, looking back up.

'Yeah,' 4 signed, smiling. 'And he holds your hand, and he wants to protect you, and—' She abruptly cut off, her head whipping around.

'What? What is it?'

4 stood. 'I heard something.'

'A beast?' asked 0, standing as well.

'No, a voice,' signed 4, waving at her. 'Go get the others.'

'Why? What is it saying?'

4's face adopted a look of alarm as she leapt down the stacks of books at the library entrance. 'Something's wrong,' she signed. 'Go get Two and Three. Hurry.'

0's optics grew wide and frightened, but she did as she was told, rushing inside and getting 2 and 3, dragging them out to greet 4, whose optics were now full of fear. 4 gripped 3's shoulders and they flashed their optics at each other frantically for a moment before 0 finally managed to grab 3's attention with her hysterical signing.

'What is it? What's wrong?' 0 signed desperately.

'Don't panic,' signed 3 as 4 grabbed 2's hand and rushed him off towards wherever they'd run off to before.

'Panic about _what_?'

'The other group is back,' 3 signed. 0 felt a lump of ice settle into her stomach. '6 is hurt.'

'What's…wrong?' 0 signed slowly, her mouth opening slightly and her pupils contracting.

'I don't know,' signed 3 gently. '4 didn't get a really good look at him. Eight's carrying him, he—'

'Eight's alive?'

'Apparently.'

'_Did he do this to Six?_'

'No, no, I don't think so,' signed 3 as soothingly as possible.

'Then _what_?'

3 thought for a moment, then slowly signed, 'I don't know.'

0 was saved from answering by the feel of a vibration of a footstep on the books below them. She whipped around and saw them, the search-and-rescue party, 7 and 9 in front and 6 slung over 8's shoulder, 5 holding his hand. 0 made a small, strangled noise in the back of her throat and tried to rush over, but was stopped by 3 gripping her arm. 'Let 2 and 5 help him,' he signed as best as he could with one hand, his other still firmly wrapped around her forearm as 8, 6, 5, and 2 rushed by. 9, 7, and 4 slowed slightly, stopping beside 3 and 0.

'What happened?' 0 demanded, pulling her arm free from 3's grip. 'You were supposed to keep him safe!'

"Another beast," 9 said, wrapping his arms around himself.

"I'm sorry, 0," 7 said, putting her hand on 0's shoulder. 0 felt her lip quiver and she fell forward onto 7, beating her lamely with her fists for a moment before wrapping her arms loosely around 7's middle, burying her face in the bleached corduroy. 7 only patted 0's back, unsure of what to do in this situation. After a moment, 0 drew away quickly, ashamed of her explosion, rubbing her palms across her face.

8 came out of the library. "How is he?" 7 asked.

"Hurt," said 8 gruffly. "He passed out on our way here."

"Did they say anything?" asked 9, coming forward as well. "Is anything important damaged?"

"Dunno," said 8, shrugging.

'Is he alive?' 0 demanded. 3 and 4 nodded and 0 sighed, placing her hand on her chest.

"Who's that?" asked 8, raising an eyebrow at 0.

"Zero," said 7. "The first."

"Oh, yeah," said 8, nodding. "Thought she was dead."

"You knew her?" asked 9, surprised.

"I saw her," said 8. "When I woke up. The Scientist said she was useless and I hadn't seen her since, so I thought she'd died."

3 and 4 had been signing for her the whole time, and 0 finally signed, 'Well, I didn't. And you've—you've been picking on 6. And hurting him.'

"What's she doing?" asked 8, looking at this little doll gesturing at him like she was something gross he'd stepped in.

"Signing," said 9. "It's a whole language."

"She's deaf," 7 clarified.

"So, what, she can't hear anything I say?" asked 8. He snorted. "No wonder he called her useless."

"You're an ass," 7 spat.

The twins clicked at each other for a moment, trying to decide what she meant by that ('Eight's a donkey?' 'No, that's a jackass.') before settling on the colloquial human slang term that described someone who was stupid, foolish, or stubborn.

The group sat out on the books until the sun finally settled behind the skyline, bringing an indigo sky dotted with many small stars with it. Sunsets over the emptiness were always shockingly beautiful (mostly due to the pollution), but they found they couldn't enjoy it.

"Did you find One?" 9 asked the twins after a moment.

They nodded, then 3 held his hand up and rocked it back and forth in a 'so-so' gesture.

"I see," said 9, looking back down. They remained silent for a few moments more before 0 felt the vibration of someone's footstep on the books below them. She was off like a shot, scrambling up and accidentally using a copy of _Huckleberry Finn_ like a skateboard, riding down to the inside of the library and stumbling off, caught before she fell by a bemused-looking 5.

'6 is okay?' 0 signed, jolting out of 5's arms.

5 gestured one of the twins (4, it turns out) over. "He will be," he said as 4 signed. "He's resting now, but you can go see him."

0 smiled at 5 with heartbreaking relief and ran off towards the direction 5 had come from. She spotted them almost immediately, 6 lying on a book on his stomach, 2 seated beside him, cutting the final stitch. Someone had lit a several small candles, filling the library with golden light. Abruptly, 0 skidded to a stop. She felt fear overcome her.

2 saw the look on her face and smiled tiredly at her, gesturing her over. 0 did as she was told, haltingly walking around the book and sitting beside the elder, never taking her eyes off 6. 2 looked at her for a moment, thinking, then took her hand and put the sleeping 6's inside it. 0, the fear and exhaustion and worry of the day overcoming her, held it up to her face for a moment and sighed, reveling in the warm pen nibs against her cheek.

'Thank you,' she signed wearily. 2 touched her back, then stood, going to 5 to offer to patch his optic back up.

After sitting on the floor beside 6 for a few minutes, 0 crawled up onto the book, tucking her legs below her body and holding his hand in her lap with one hand. With the other, she gently traced the six long scars that now decorated his back. Each was done in white thread, and bisected at least one of the stripes that ran down his body. Two on his right shoulder, one on the back of his left leg, one on his left arm, and the two longest parallel down his back. She ran her finger down her own scar, then lifted his hand to her face again, pressing her lips to his palm.

The others watched this exchange from the shadows with interest. "She was…very worried," 2 finally said, breaking the silence as he hobbled over to the seated 5. "You sure you don't mind me sewing while you're awake?"

"Yeah, just gimme a second," said 5, fitting his fingers into his patch and bending his head down, shaking the dirt and dust that had accumulated over the past day out of his head. After a moment he sat back up to let 2 continue sewing.

"So, what, they…what?" asked 8, sounding genuinely confused.

"I don't think they anything, yet," mumbled 2, staring intently at 8's patch. "6 isn't quite sure how to talk to her yet. I don't think anyone but the twins are."

"But they…you know?"

"Your eloquence is astounding," said 7, rolling her eyes.

"They care for each other, yes," said 2, ignoring 7's snark. "But I believe that's all it is, now. Deep care for each other. 6 is fiercely protective of her, and I'm sure she's the same for him."

"She can't fight," 5 said gently.

"Caring for someone is more than just fighting for them," said 2. This caused them all to fall silent while 2 finished darning. "There we are," he said, snipping off the last bit. The stitch was invisible, since he had been allowed to take his time, only leaving a small pucker in 5's patch.

"Thanks," said 5 gratefully. "I'm going to go set up some bedrooms. Eight, stay here and get your arm fixed up." He nodded at 8 and stepped onto the candlestick elevator with the others, letting it rise to the next shelves.

"Now, what on Earth happened to you?" asked 2, patting the seat 5 had just vacated.

8 sat and 2 began examining his stump, 'tsk'-ing all the while. "The insides burned up," said 8 stoically.

"Do you want me to try to fix it?" asked 2, looking at 8 with concern. That was new. Normally, no one was concerned about 8.

"Can you?"

"Well…not with the resources I have now."

8 shrugged. "Sew it up. If 5 can go without an optic, I can go without an arm."

2 sighed and began sewing the hole up, ignoring the grunts from 8 every few stitches. After a few minutes of silence, punctuated once by the noise of 0 lying down beside 6, he finished. "Well, that's all she wrote," he said, wrapping the rest of the thread around the spool. "If I may ask, do you still have your arm?"

8 raised an eyebrow, but obediently unbuckled the top of his body and drew out the arm, handing it to 2. "What for?"

2 was thinking about 1's fingers, but all he said was, "Spare parts. Go get some rest." He decided 8 could worry about 1 in the morning, when he had rested a bit.

With a shrug, 8 stood and lumbered off to the platform for the candlestick elevator, beginning to pull it down.

2 began to follow him, extinguishing all the candles as he did, but found himself turning back to the sleeping dolls on the book. He wandered over and watched them for a moment before smoothing back 6's hair and removing 0's hat, setting it beside her on the ground. 2 smiled benevolently at them, remembering what it was like to be young and in love.

"You coming?" 8 asked.

"Yes, yes," said 2, snapping out of his reverie and going to the elevator, letting himself be pulled up to one of the makeshift bedrooms the others had set up. They were all basically identical, separated by books standing on end with passageways to the others near the back of the shelf where the books didn't touch. 5 had found him a piece of ripped shirt to curl up in, promising they'd find something better tomorrow, but 2 waved his concerns off, insisting he was fine for the evening. 2 hugged his apprentice good night and draped the cloth around himself, rolling up in it and falling asleep almost immediately. His dreams that night were ones he hadn't had in ages, memories of falling asleep in someone's arms, memories almost as old as he was, but far from forgotten.


	9. Weird Inside

Hopefully FF won't be all weird with this chapter.

I adore writing 6's psyche. He's all muddled.

* * *

><p>6 woke in the middle of the night with a gasp, his whole body pitching backwards. It was nightmares, again; of course it was nightmares. Always nightmares. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in months. He carefully sat up, his back sore and straining against his new stitches, wondering where he was. Then he felt the hand on his knee.<p>

He looked down, his eyes still the pinpricks they always were when he woke in the middle of the night, and saw 0 looking up at him with the same look in her eyes. She hesitatingly held up three fingers and 6 nodded, quickly, not quite sure he was awake or not. Was he dead? Had that…thing killed him?

With 6's confirmation that it was, indeed, him, 0 launched herself forward and into his arms, holding him as tight as her tiny body would allow, making small, grateful noises in the back of her throat. 6's mind, still recovering from the nightmare, took a moment to register what was happening, but when it did, he chokingly said, "Zero."

0 felt the vibration of his voice and began to tremble; so grateful for his life she thought she'd explode. 6 wrapped his arms around her as well, softly humming a tuneless song to let her know, yes, he was alive, yes, he was here, yes, he was safe. Yes.

0 pulled back and held his ink-stained face in her hands, searching those mismatched eyes for a moment, memorizing them like the twins catalogued. 'You were supposed to stay safe,' she signed, her face still terrified.

6 shrugged and held his hands up, indicating he couldn't understand her. 0 shook her head slightly and put her arms around him, gently this time. 6 nuzzled her cheek with his optics, holding her as well. He felt her yawn into his shoulder and felt a pang of guilt in his chest. She'd held his vigil for two nights two days before that, had been woken up in the middle of the night and then stabbed yesterday, and had probably been sleeping restlessly that night.

6 gently tipped their bodies down, unwilling to let her go, and fit his arm between her neck and the ground, draping his other around her waist. 0, in turn, put one hand on his cheek and the other between his stomach and arm, pulling herself as close as the position would allow and falling asleep nearly immediately.

6 watched her sleep for a while, making sure his nightmare was completely gone. As he ran the tips of his fingers down her back, he began to feel that thing again. What was that thing? That thing where he never wanted to move from this place, where his middle felt all gross at the thought of losing her to anything. He hummed again, fluctuating the notes slightly, feeling like he'd heard the song before, and she smiled in her sleep, curling closer to him.

That smile. Her smile. It made him feel that thing again. What _was_ that?

He yawned and felt his optics grow heavy. He only barely managed to resolve to ask 5 in the morning before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>"Well, <em>they<em> seem to've slept well."

"I told you, she was very worried."

"_I_ think it's cute."

Clicks.

"We should let them rest. Neither of them have had good luck with that lately."

6 blearily opened his optics to see the rest of the clan (except for 1 and 8) staring down at him and 0, still entwined. He laughed nervously and sat up, untangling himself from 0 in the process.

"Sorry, Six," said 2, smiling gently. "We didn't mean to wake you."

"No, no," said 6, waving him off. He turned and saw 0 sitting up as well, a small green blush creeping onto her cheeks. 6 took her hand and squeezed it, smiling again.

"Five, Seven, and I are going scouting," said 9, amused by their awkward flirtation. "You can come if you want."

"Nonono," said 6 quickly, touching the scar on the back of his leg. "But, um…paper?"

"We can get you paper," said 7. "Ink, too?" 6 nodded vigorously, causing the mop of hair on his head to spring back and forth. 5 smiled and ruffled it fondly before taking off into the abyss with the other two.

'Did you sleep well?' 4 signed, sitting next to 0.

'This place is amazing,' 0 replied, turning her attention from 6 to converse with the twins.

6 watched her for a moment, enjoying the way her hands moved. As he watched, he felt like he'd meant to ask 5 something, something about—yes! "Wait!" cried 6, jumping up and taking off after him, leaving 0 to her conversation.

"Six?" asked 9, turning back around. The scouting party had already reached the door when the striped doll caught up with them, reaching 5 and skidding to a stop.

"Five, Five," he said, panting slightly. He put his hands on his knees and caught his breath, then looked back up and said, "What is that thing I feel?"

"What?" asked 5, his eyes widening.

6 swallowed and stood back up, gripping his key like a safety net. "When I look at Zero," he said, trying to figure out how to put it and ending up with it all tumbling out at once, "it's strange, it's like I want to hold her hand, and I get this gross feeling in here?" He pointed to his stomach, then his chest. "And in here, it gets all whirr-y, and I feel hot? What is that?" He smiled hopefully at 5. "You're smart. You know."

"This is _adorable_," said 7, grinning broadly.

5 sputtered for a moment, unsure of how to answer. "Uh, well, Six, it's, uh—"

"Tell you what, Six," 9 said, putting a hand on 6's shoulder. "While we're out getting supplies, you look around the library. Try and see if you can figure it out. There's a whole section dedicated to it."

"You won't tell me?" asked 6, his face falling.

"It'll mean more if you figure it out," 9 reassured. "Don't worry. You will."

6 stared at him for a moment, then nodded, scampering back to 0. 5 breathed a sigh of relief and putting a hand on 9's shoulder. "Thanks," he said, relieved. "You really saved me, there."

"It's nothin'," said 9, smiling back at 5 and beginning to scale the pile of books. What he didn't tell 5 was that the reason he knew precisely what 6 felt for 0 was because it was the exact way he felt for 5. That was a conversation for another day.

When 6 reached the place he'd left 0 again, she wasn't there. 6 looked around quickly before spotting 2 walking away. "Two!" he said, catching up.

"Oh, hello, Six," said 2, smiling. "Want to help me check on One?" He didn't, particularly, but he nodded and followed 2 obediently. "What was it you asked Nine about? You took off quite quickly."

"Oh!" Maybe 2 would tell him! "When I look at 0, I get weird inside. Do you know what that is?"

"What kind of weird?" asked 2, raising an eyebrow. They'd reached the shelf where the twins had brought 1, away from the rest of them. He was covered with a piece of blue cloth, resting peacefully.

"Um, it's like," said 6, trying to articulate more clearly than he had for 5. 2 sat on a spool and 6 sat on the ground in front of him. "Like, when she smiles, I feel warm inside. And I want to…touch her? All the time? And…and."

"She makes you happy?" 2 prompted, a knowing smile on his lips.

"Yes, but—more?" said 6. "More than happy. What is that?"

"What did Nine say?"

6 sighed. "He wouldn't tell. Said I should find it."

"What else?"

"It would…mean more. If I found it."

"So why are you asking me?"

6 made a small whiny noise. "Because I want to kno-ow!"

"You will," said 2, laughing gently. "Go look. You'll find it."

6 made a small face, then rose and wandered off, presumably to find 0. 2 watched the floor for a moment, then a voice, old, familiar, and now very frail, reached his ears.

"So you found her."

2 sighed, relieved, and turned to his old friend. "Welcome back, One." 1 opened his eyes blearily and attempted to sit up. "Oh no, no," said 2, sliding off his chair and holding 1's shoulders. "Don't do that. You'll hurt yourself."

"I've already hurt myself," said 1, not looking 2 in the eyes. "My hands…my optic."

"All reparable. And as you can see, death was only a temporary setback." 2 chuckled. "For all of us."

"The rest—?"

"A little worse for the wear, but alive," said 2, helping 1 sit up fully. "Eight is missing an arm, Five's eye patch had to be repaired, and Six was attacked yesterday and has several new scars. And, of course, my hip gives me as much trouble as ever."

"How many times am I going to have to apologize for that?" 1 said with a ghost of a smile.

"You know I only tease." They were silent for a moment, neither of them looking at each other. "Shall I get Eight?"

"No, no…not for a moment." 1 finally looked 2 in the eyes then with the look of a broken man. "I'm sorry, Two."

"No need to apologize, old man," said 2 with a smile.

"No, there is a need to apologize," said 1. "I shouldn't have sent you away."

"I heard you sacrificed yourself to save us," said 2 quietly. "That was…very brave."

"Thank you." Another silence, this one less awkward. "That's where I hurt my hands."

"Where did you hurt the rest of you?"

"Coming back. I got caught in the rain, and fell. I'd hoped you all would come back here." He smiled, finally. "I'm glad to see I was right."

2 smiled warmly. "We'll fix those right up," he said, taking 1's hand and examining it. "I'm afraid the eye is going to take longer, but Eight's old arm still has fingers. It'll take a bit to get them wired up, but—" He stopped talking as 1 turned his mangled hand over and held 2's.

"I should not have made you leave," said 1 quietly. "I got scared. And I'm sorry. And I have been sorry since I did it."

"We have a second chance now," said 2 quietly.

1 nodded nervously and 2 squeezed his hand. "I'll be different. We'll be different."

"Okay," 2 whispered, only then allowing himself to haltingly move himself beside 1 and hug him. "I missed you." 1 did not reply, only held 2 tightly, hoping he understood that, even though he couldn't say it, he had missed him, too.


	10. Fairy Tale

Please review. For my poor little ego.

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><p>'Have you seen the whole library?' 0 asked from her seat on the floor.<p>

4 was sitting much farther above her, on a stack of books. 3 was so far up in the shelves they couldn't see him. 'No, not even close,' signed 4 with a smile. 'Have you even seen how big this place is? There's way too much.'

'Do you think you ever will?'

'Oh, yes. And then we will know everything.'

0 suppressed a smile. 'I don't think you can know everything.'

'Do not test my power!' signed 4, hopping up and striking a dramatic pose. 'I shall know all there is, and then no one shall question my rule!'

'Oh, I'm so sorry, most powerful Four!' signed 0 quickly, going to her knees. 'Far be it from a lowly peasant such as myself to question your supremacy!'

'Do not do it again!' signed 4, sticking out her lower lip. 'Or I shall call Seven to finish the job!' 0 gulped and sat back on her heels, the playful wind going out of her sails. 'Too far?' 4 asked, her hands small.

'Little bit.'

'Sorry.'

Fortunately, they were saved from any awkwardness by a rope that dropped from the highest shelf. 4 smiled and held out her index finger, middle finger, and thumb. 0 grinned as well, gripping the rope and letting herself be hoisted up with 4. After a moment of riding, they reached the top, where 3 stood, wringing his hands to loosen his wrists. He flickered at 4 for a moment and together they pulled a small book (one that might have fit in a human's pocket) and dropped it open. 0 saw the page and gasped.

The black-and-white ink drawing that looked back at her was one of the most beautiful she'd ever seen. In the background was a forest, dark and mysterious, and far beyond that the traces of a castle. In the foreground was a girl, a human girl, sitting beside a well. Her long hair, which 0 imagined was gold, fanned out on the ground behind her, topped by a small crown. A princess. She was holding the tips of her fingers to her chin, her head tilted, a bemused smile on her face as she looked at the creature in front of her. Resting on the well's low wall was a creature like none 0 had ever seen. He had a flat, wide head and a squat body with large, dark eyes. He was holding a finger up, perhaps instructing the princess? Or commanding her. But what could such an awful creature have to say to this beautiful thing?

4 pointed to the animal and spelled, 'F-r-o-g.'

0 looked at 4, wonder in her eyes. 'And a princess?' 4 nodded. 'What's it saying?'

4 turned the page over and revealed lines and lines of small type, topped by the words, 'The Princess and the Frog'. 'It's a story,' signed 4. 'Three thought you might like it. There are hundreds of them.'

'There are books for fun?' 0 asked, her mouth agape.

'Half the library is books for fun,' 3 signed. 'They're called fiction.'

0 stared at the book for a moment, reading the first phrase, signing it with small gestures as she did, until eventually she became so enthralled she no longer moved except to shift position when her legs got stiff. 3 and 4 read over her shoulder for a while, until they heard the voice down below.

"Zero!" 6 yelled far below, his hands cupped around his mouth. "Three! Four!"

3 and 4 beamed and ran to the edge of the shelf. They flashed their eyes, quickly, drawing 6's attention before throwing down the rope. 6 latched on for dear life as the twins hoisted him up, where he stumbled off and nearly ran into 0, who had lain on her stomach to read more easily. 6 dropped to his stomach, too, shimmying over to read as well. He smiled as he realized that it was a story he was familiar with. This book was not one that had come with the library, it was one 7 had found out in the wastes one day.

"_The twins found something!" she'd said, leading the twins into the sanctuary. They held the book over their head like it was the Ark of the Covenant._

"_What is it?" 5 asked, setting down the telescope he'd been working on and coming over._

"_A book," shrugged 7. "They seemed to get excited about it, so I figured we'd need to come back as soon as possible."_

_The twins set the book down and opened it to the first page, which read, 'Ten Fairy Stories by the Brothers Grimm'. They turned a few more pages to the Princess and the Frog, which they immediately began cataloguing._

"_Pointless," spat 1, toeing the book with disdain. "A foolish waste of time. What need have we for fairy tales?"_

"_They're children," said 2 soothingly._

"_I fail to see how that has anything to do with it."_

"_You bitter old man," said 7, stomping her foot. The stomp drew 6's attention (a rare thing those days). 6 was not well, then; the source still clogged his every thought, but this thing the twins were cataloguing seemed to draw him slightly out of his trance. "You can't help but think anything even remotely fun is useless."_

"_Fun is a waste of time," said 1 firmly. "Get rid of it."_

"_Now, One—" said 2, smiling slightly._

"_Do not test me, Two," sneered 1. "Get. Rid. Of. It."_

_8 stood from where he'd been sharpening his blade, presumably to carry out the task 1 had deemed necessary. "Now, hold on," said 7, interposing herself between 1 and 8, and the twins. "What harm does it do?"_

"_It makes them think bad thoughts," snapped 1. "It makes them think of paradises not possible. It's unhealthy."_

"_You tyrant, I should just—"_

"_I am the leader here! What I say goes!"_

"_What is that?" asked 6 quietly from where stood looming over the twins. No one had heard him sneak up and now the argument fell silent as 6 sat and pulled the book closer to him, inadvertently scratching long black marks into the page with his still ink-wet fingers. "One fine evening," he began, reading aloud in a thoughtful tone, one they'd never heard, "a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in the wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water that rose in the midst of it, she sat herself down to rest a while."_

"_What harm does it do?" 7 repeated, gesturing at the sack doll they'd all thought was insane._

_1 watched the tableau for a moment, the two children listening to the lunatic read, and huffed. "Fine. They can keep it." He spun on his heel and stalked away, back to his throne. 7 smiled triumphantly and sat across from 6 and the twins. 5 put down his telescope and leaned against the wall to listen, and 2 sat wearily on an overturned teacup. 8 went back to sharpening his blade, but quieter and with less intensity; and even though he'd never admit it, 1 strained forward to hear as well._

"_Open the door, my princess dear, open the door to thy true love here!" said 6 happily. "And mind the words that thou and I said by the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade."_

6 smiled at the memory, touching the still-present ink marks on the page, pleased to see that the old thing still survived. 0 had nearly reached the end of the story, and he decided to read along with the last part. He sat up and leaned against her so she could feel his voice and began to speak. "But when the princess awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, and standing at the head of her bed," he said, keeping his voice even. 0 sighed happily; she loved feeling 6's voice. It was one of her small comforts. The twins leaned against the wall of books behind them and tilted their heads together, listening to 6 read as they had so long ago.

"He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had changed him into a frog," said 6 quietly, "and that he had been fated so to abide till some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights. 'You,' said the prince," 6 put on a funny, croaking voice for the prince, he always had, "'have broken his cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where I will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'" 6 suddenly fell quiet, reading the sentence again, silently. After a moment, he repeated, "I will love you as long as you live." He stared down at 0 for a moment, the gears in his head turning, the connections slowly forming, until 0 turned the page and 6 snapped out of his reverie. He turned to the twins.

"I love her," he said, astonished.

3 and 4 clapped their hands over their respective mouths. It was one thing suspecting it and another altogether hearing it.

"That's the thing, right?" asked 6, feeling like he was about to babble again and being powerless to stop it. "It's, it's, it's wanting to be here, forever, and touching her, and holding her, and it's love, right? Right?"

4 slowly nodded and 6 split into a big grin.

"I love you," he said to 0's head. "You can't hear me, and I love you."

4 gripped 3's hand tightly, smiling deliriously at being right. 4 flashed his optics at his sister rapidly, trying to get her to help him make some sense of what was happening. 0 only finished the story, completely oblivious to her surroundings, and unconsciously took 6's hand.

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><p>The scouting party returned that evening with a whole pair of skates worth of stuff. The library was not equipped to deal with so many guests, so mostly they'd brought back beds: a large kitchen sponge for 8, a pair of beanbags for 1 and 2, and gobs of netting and a box of eye screws for the smaller, more agile dolls to make hammocks. Regrettably, 7 had been unable to find ink and paper, but somehow 6 was okay with that. For one night, at least.<p>

When they'd finished hanging up their respective beds, 0 and 6 had decided to sit in 0's room and read the book. "Hey, Six?" asked 9, popping his head in. "Can we talk?"

0 looked up at 6 and he indicated 9 in the doorway. 0 waved slightly, then turned back to the book while 6 rose and walked over. 9 pulled him into the next room (which was 9's) and said, "So, did you figure it out?"

"Yes," said 6, proudly putting his hands on his hips. "I love Zero."

Suddenly, they both heard a 'thunk' as 5 fell out of his bunk a shelf above them. After a moment of them looking at the ceiling, confused, 5 popped his head over the edge, upside down. "What?" he demanded.

"Zero," said 6 simply. "I love her."

5 nodded slightly, then disappeared. His legs appeared a moment later, kicking as he shimmied himself into 9's bedroom. "Now, Six," he said after he'd landed, dusting himself off. "When you say you love her—"

"'M not crazy," 6 mumbled, crossing his arms and hunching over.

"I never said you were," said 5 quickly, walking over to 6 and putting his hand on his back. "I'm just—do you love her like 3 loves 4?"

"No," said 6 defiantly. "I love her…like in the story."

"The story?"

"The frog story," said 6. "Like that."

"I'm sorry, Six, I'm still not quite—"

"Like how you love Nine!" said 6 exasperatedly.

9 and 5 blushed a deep green. "Six, that's not—quite, uh," stammered 5.

"And how's that?" 9 interrupted.

6 paused, putting his hand on his chin and looking at the ground. "I want to…_be_ there," he finally said. "When she's hurt, or scared, or forever. And touch her. And kiss her." He looked back up at 5 and 9 and grinned. "You don't know anything," he said teasingly before running back into 0's room.

The other two remained silent for a moment before 9 finally turned to 5. "About what Six said—"

"Forget it," said 5 quickly, walking back to the edge of the shelf and jumping up, flailing for the edge of his shelf and missing. 9 watched, amused, for a moment before going over and taking 5's feet, lifting him up to his shelf.

9 watched the ceiling for a moment, following the sound of 5's footfalls with his eyes. When 5 was about halfway across the room, he blurted, "Five." The footsteps above him stopped. After a long moment, 9 swallowed and said, "Goodnight."

Above him, 5 stared wistfully at the floorboards, internally kicking himself for being such a coward. "Goodnight, Nine," he replied, walking to his bed and flopping across it, running his fingers down his face and groaning.


	11. The Best in Me

Sorry for the delay. It's difficult to update on weekends, plus it's finals week at my university and blah blah blah. Anyways. Here's a chapter.

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><p>"I'm not certain what I'm going to say to them," said 1 quietly, putting his head in his hand. He was sitting on his bed in the back, still very tired and unwell. However, he had decided it was time to address his clan.<p>

"They're all worried about you," said 2 soothingly from his seat beside 1. "You've been back here two days. They think you're on death's door, no matter how much I try to dissuade them." 1 said nothing. "Probably because you told me not to let them in."

"Look at me, Two," said 1 tiredly. He lifted his chin off his hand and looked into 2's eyes, his own looking tired and broken, the one optic still cracked. "I'm old. I'm weak. I'm half-blind and I still can't use my hands properly." It was true. 8's fingers were simply much bigger than 1's small, delicate ones: the repair technically worked, but 1 had to do much more finagling to operate them.

"You're fine, old man," said 2 with a small smile. "They don't care what state you're in. They just want to see you. Eight in particular."

"I don't care what they think," said 1 softly.

"_I_ don't care what state you're in, either," said 2, resting his hand on 1's back. "I'm happy you're alive."

"Even after I sent you to die?" demanded 1, standing on wobbly legs. "I knew what I was doing, Two, and I know you—oh!" His legs gave way and 2 leapt up, catching him and lowering him back to the bed.

"You need to take it easy a while, One," said 2, concerned. "You're not as young as you used to be."

"I know _that_," said 1 bitterly. They were silent another moment as 2 seated himself beside 1 and wrapped an arm around him. "Why do you forgive me?" 1 asked, so quietly 2 wasn't sure he'd heard him at all.

2 sighed as he mulled it over. "You…got scared," said 2, his arm still firmly around his elder's shoulders. "I can't say I blame you. I was scared, too. But…" he stared down at his knees, then laughed quietly and looked back at 1, a smile on his face. "What can I say? You bring out the best in me."

1 was silent another moment, shock and then a kind of intense regret registering on his sharp features, before he lifted his arm up, hesitated, and took 2's hand. "You…bring out _something_ in me," said 1, as though every word was difficult. "I'm not sure if it's good or bad. But it's something…very powerful. And I'm not sure how to deal with it."

"You always seem to think you're alone," said 2 affectionately. "You're not. You have all of these people here who only want to help you."

"And you?"

"Of course." 2 squeezed 1's hand, then stood and offered both of his, helping 1 to stand. "This afternoon, I'll ask the scouting party to find you a staff."

"And a cape," said 1 as he put his arm around 2 for support. 2 laughed as 1 added, "That Nine still owes me one."

This caused 2 to laugh even harder as he led their leader out into the open area at the base of the shelves. "Everyone come down here, please!" he said through his chuckles. "There's someone who wants to talk to you!"

"One?" demanded 8's rumbly voice as he leaned over the shelf that contained his room. 9, 7, and 5 had already climbed onto the elevator at 2's call, and 8 hitched a ride with them. The twins scrambled out from behind a stack of books and ran over, skidding to a stop about a foot from 1 and 2. The others quickly joined them, all except for 0 and 6.

"Six, come down here," 2 gently called when he'd counted heads.

After a moment, 6's small voice answered, "No."

"Come on, Six," yelled 5.

"No," 6 retorted, a little bit louder. "Staying here."

"Why are you and Zero staying up there?"

There was another long pause, the silence filled only with the whispering of 0's fingers. "She doesn't like One," 6 finally answered. "Me, neither."

"Six, come down here and bring the girl," said 1, his patience wearing.

"Stop that," said 2 seriously.

"Want me to get 'em?" asked 8.

"No, no!" said 2. "You two have no idea how to talk to him."

"I can hear you," said 6 petulantly.

2 sighed and ran a hand over his mouth, then an idea came to his head. "Okay, Six, Zero, you can stay up there," he said. "But come over to the edge of the shelf and look down here. You can stay up there, I just want to make sure we can see you, too."

There was another pause, then the sound of 6 and 0 moving, their faces coming into view a moment later. They were holding hands, of course, and as the other dolls watched they carefully sat themselves on the edge of the shelf and dangled their legs off, their attention on 2. 4 waved and smiled, and 0 waved back, much less enthusiastically. 4 quickly climbed to the top of a stack of books and held her hands in front of her chest, ready to translate.

1 stared out at his old clan for a moment, then cleared his throat and said, "I'm afraid I—I have not been looking out for everyone's best interest as a leader," he said, sounding like he was feeling his age. "I've been bitter…cowardly…hostile. And I am sorry. And I…I would understand if you didn't want me to lead you anymore." He hung his head and 2 raised his eyebrows. He'd expected regret, not a hanging up of the crown. "I am going to try to change," 1 continued, "but it will be hard. You will have to bear with me."

"We can do that," said 7, stepping forward. Now 2 felt his eyebrows were in danger of completely breaking off, they were so high up. "And we still want you as leader. As long as you promise to change."

"I—I did not expect you would be the first one to accept me," said 1 with a small chuckle.

7 smiled as well. "What can I say? You're as stubborn as I am. I understand how hard this apology is for you."

"Ah, thank you," said 1, still laughing quietly.

"You sacrificed yourself to keep us safe," said 9, joining 7. "In my book, that's deserving of all the forgiveness we can offer."

8 didn't say anything, only walked forward and stood on 7's other side, nodding.

"I'm with 9," said 5 meekly, standing beside the aforementioned doll.

4 took this opportunity to stop signing and run over, 3 on her heels, to bundle 1 into as big of a hug as they could. 2 laughed uproariously as 1 awkwardly caught himself before he was knocked over and patted their backs.

"Well, Six? Zero?" asked 2, shading his eyes as he looked up at the dolls still on the shelf. "What do you say?"

6 held up one finger, then touched it to his head and raised an eyebrow. 0 seemed to struggle for an instant, then quickly shook her head and shoved herself backward. 6 sighed and looked down at the dolls below. "Give me a minute," he said, standing and following 0. "Bring the elevator up!" he called. 4 jumped onto the elevator and pulled it up to 0's shelf. 4 stared in for a moment, and then 6 slowly reappeared, pulling along a silently terrified 0. They boarded the elevator and rode it down to the ground, 0 holding one of 6's hands with both of her own the whole while. When the candlestick gently bumped the ground, 0 began to shake. 6 turned to her and took her hands in both of his, leading her, haltingly, toward 1. When they stood directly in front of him, 6 slid behind her, not breaking direct contact, but not wanting to stand between her and 1, either.

1 leaned forward, inspecting 0 carefully. 0 averted her optics, trembling harder than ever. 6 squeezed her shoulders firmly, ready to jump in should things get out of hand. However, 1 only leaned back after a moment and looked 0 in the eyes as best he could.

"I owe you an apology, don't I?" he asked. 3 popped up behind 1 and began translating. "I remember you," 1 continued, ruminating. "I called you useless when I first woke."

"You did what?" asked 9.

"Oh, One," said 2 sadly.

"I do not deny it," said 1, holding a hand up for silence. "I was only certain I was a leader, then, and I assumed my clan all had to have visible abilities." He looked at 2. "You're the one that changed my mind, in that regard. But I had met her so long ago, I thought she had disappeared into the wastes." He turned back to 0. "So. Long overdue, but I am sorry. I hope you can find your way to forgiving me." 0 looked up at him, finally, and saw the large crack in his optic. "I don't expect it to happen immediately, but…I hope you'll consider it."

0 stared at him for a minute longer, then held out her hand, cringing and looking away even as she did it. 1 smiled weakly and took it, shaking it gently. After a quick pump, 0 withdrew her hand and scuttled back to the elevator, 6 following closely behind. 6 pulled the rope as 0 turned her back to the other dolls, ashamed of her own cowardice.

"That went well," said 2 happily.

"I think so," 1 replied tiredly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to bed."

"Oh, of course," said 2 quickly, putting 1's arm around him and leading him back to his room.

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><p>The scouting party returned successful that evening, with a long, thin piece of wood for 2 (to make a staff for 1 and a cane for himself), and a nice stoppered bottle of black ink and a sheaf of human-sized papers for 6, which he and 0 happily began ripping into 6-sized bits.<p>

"We have a couple of surprises, too," said 9, sounding pleased.

"Okay, first, the most cumbersome one," said 7, going over to the roller-skate and pulling out one large kitchen knife and one much smaller one. "For you," she said to 8, smiling.

8 smiled for just the faintest instant, then collected his toys and grunted, "Thanks."

"We'll try to find a sharpener for them tomorrow," said 9, smiling. "Oh, and for One." He unzipped himself and reached inside, pulling out a rectangle of soft red fabric and a pin with a large blue stone set in the middle of it. "As I recall, I owed you a cape."

"This is smashing!" 2 exclaimed, laughing. "Look, One, he did it!"

"So he did," said 1, hobbling over and taking the objects, slinging the cape around his shoulders and pinning it on. "And this is much softer than my old one."

"It came from a human's dress," said 5. "Nine insisted we stop and cut it out."

"Thank you, Nine," said 1 gruffly, as though he was not certain of the words yet. 2 laughed.

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><p>It rained again a few days later. None of them were used to thunder and lightning yet, these flashes in the sky and noises loud enough to shake the library. The twins slept together that night, coiled together so tight it was almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. 6 and 0 slept together as well (under the pretense of the storm, though everyone knew they'd slept together every night before that as well), 0 jumping every time the thunder shook their hammock, and 6 rubbing her back until she fell asleep again. For the first time since they'd been reawakened, 2 slept in 1's bed, curled up around their leader protectively, 1's arms lazily encircling 2.<p>

9 was awake that night, the bad memories of his friends' dead bodies during the last rain clouding his mind and not allowing him to sleep. The rain did that, he noticed, even though his friends were alive and asleep in the other rooms. No matter how he shifted in his hammock, he was unable to get comfortable, so he eventually settled on his back, one arm on his stomach and the other on his forehead, resigning himself to another night of no sleep.

"Nine?" he heard, the familiar sound of the only audible female.

"Hey, Seven," he said, not moving.

"Can you sleep?" she asked, coming over to 9's bedside.

"No," he answered honestly. "Can you?"

"No," she answered. "Can I, I mean…"

9 looked at her for a moment, her eyes looking down, a small green blush in her cheeks. He knew this was wrong, he knew he should explain himself and turn her down as gently as possible…but what the hell, he was lonely and she was a warm body, a dear friend, a protection against his memories…and damn it, he was so lonely. "Sure," he said, scooting over slightly. As long as she doesn't try anything, he told himself.

Of course, he should have known better. 9 wasn't the only lonely one, wasn't the only one pining for something they couldn't have. 7 quickly got into the hammock, wrapping her arms around 9's chest and resting her head against his chest. They remained like that for much longer than they should have, 9 intermittently running his fingers down her arm and 7 giving him small squeezes. "This is nice," she murmured.

"Mm," said 9 noncommittally. "It's good having someone next to you."

"It was the storm," said 7 softly. "It scared me."

9 looked down at her and smiled fondly, thinking how 5 would be scared of the storm, too. How was he? Should 9 check on him? "It won't hurt us."

"Yeah," 7 sighed. That sigh, that contented sigh, was the thing that made 9 break out of his lonely fog and truly look at who it was in his arms and what she was saying. Instantly, the guilt surged forward. This was wrong. "Hey, Nine?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…do you have feelings for anyone?"

9 gulped nervously. "Uh, I have feelings for all of you. Different feelings. But all good."

"Okay," said 7 slowly. "I guess what I'm asking is—"

"No, no, Seven, no, I'm sorry," said 9, untangling his arms from her and trying to push away, only succeeding in pushing himself onto the floor. He stood quickly, brushing himself off and trying to look dignified and apologetic at the same time. 7 gracefully stood, regarding 9 with questions in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"I—I shouldn't have done that," said 9. "Let you into my bed. I don't have feelings for you, 7. I'm sorry."

"You thought the best way to show that was to hold me for an hour in your bed?" 7 demanded, crossing her arms.

"I…didn't mean to hurt you," said 9, rubbing his toe into the floorboards.

"And the best way to not hurt me was to _flirt with me_?"

"I'm sorry!" said 9 desperately.

7 only looked at him, from the crown of his head to the bottoms of his feet and back up again, causing him to squirm like a worm on a hook, before turning on her heel and stalking out of the room, only to reappear a moment later to say, "By the way, why would _I_ be scared of a thunderstorm?" With that, she was truly gone.

9 sighed and ran a hand over his burlap face, sighing in pain and frustration before going back to his hammock and, surprisingly, falling asleep almost instantly.

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><p>Before I go anywhere, a bit of love for my reviewers. Mad Artist, I will update regularly, don't worry about that. I have lots of plans for this story.<p> 


	12. Being Alone

A/N: It's a short one. I'm sorry. It's been difficult to carve out time to work on this lately.

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><p>6 listened as 7 stomped out of 9's room and slid down a rope to the floor, going out of the library. 0 looked up from his arms. 'What is it?' she sleepily signed.<p>

'Seven,' 6 signed, shifting slightly to get more comfortable. 'She left.'

'Where?'

6 shrugged. 'Seven and Nine…fought,' 6 signed, struggling to remember what 'fight' was and settling on making an angry face and a pair of fists.

'Lover's quarrel,' 0 signed with a playful smile.

'Nine doesn't love Seven,' signed 6. 'Seven loves Nine, Nine doesn't love Seven.'

'What?' demanded 0, her optics going wide. 'But I thought he did!'

6 shook his head. 'Seven loves Nine. Nine loves Five. Five loves Nine.'

0 raised an eyebrow. 'Why aren't they together, then?'

6 shrugged again. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, both of them tired but unwilling to go to sleep just yet, before 0 touched 6's shoulder again. 6 looked at her and 0 carefully signed, 'Seven loves Nine. Nine loves Five. Five loves Nine. And Zero loves Six.'

6's eyebrows raised slightly and he repeated, 'Zero loves Six?' 0 nodded, not quite looking at him, and 6 grinned and touched her chin, leading her head up to look at him before he replied, 'Six loves Zero.' This caused Zero to split into a big grin as well and 6, unable to contain himself, shifted down and kissed her, slowly, savoring the moment for all it was worth. They spent the rest of the night in their familiar, comfortable silence, 6 listening to the patter of water against the windows and 0 feeling the vibrations of 6's gentle, tuneless humming as the rain washed down, making everything new.

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><p>7 wasn't sure what she was thinking while she stormed out of the library, only that she needed to get out. She had crossed 9's room into 8's, above which was hers. She jumped up to the edge and grabbed the rope she kept tied to the wall, tossing it over and grabbing it, spinning down to the floor. She landed harder than she'd intended, but she ignored the pain in her ankle as she clambered over the pile of books at the entryway to go outside. The rain was falling very hard now, but the overhang kept most of the front dry. 8 was sitting out there on guard duty, sharpening his new, large knife. He looked up when 7 came down, registering who it was before looking back down.<p>

7 hadn't counted on 8 being there when all she wanted was to be alone. "I'm, uh, here to relieve you," she said, stopping about a foot from him.

"No, you're not," 8 grunted, not stopping in his sharpening.

"What makes you say that?"

"I took second shift," said 8, finally pausing to look up at her. "Five was on guard duty before, I'm here 'til morning."

"I'm heading out, then," said 7, reaching up to push her helmet down before realizing, with a start, that it wasn't there. She hated that. It made her feel naked.

"No, you're not," said 8 firmly, planting his knife in a book.

"Says who?"

"The guard." 8 stood and turned, looking at her with that hard look in his eyes. "Go back inside."

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Can, too."

"Name five reasons why."

"Don't have to. Go inside."

"You're impossible," spat 7, stomping over and sitting down on the book beside his, crossing her arms petulantly.

8 stared at her for a moment before sitting back down and wrenching his knife out of the book and continuing to sharpen it. The sharpening strap they'd found and 2 had since modified was actually a rather ingenious thing: 2 had sewn a second, smaller strap onto the top so 8 could hook it over his neck and a bar into the bottom so he could rest his feet on it and keep it from moving. It allowed 8 to sharpen his knives without feeling like an invalid for missing a limb.

7 watched him for a moment before finally breaking the silence. "How is it?" she asked quietly. "Only having one arm."

"Different," said 8, not pausing in his sharpening. "Sometimes I still think it's there. It makes me clumsy." He shrugged. "I'm dealing with it."

"I don't think I'd be able to do it," said 7, staring at his stump.

"I don't have a choice," sighed 8. 7 looked at him, then, and saw the frown twisting his striped mouth and the distant sadness in his eyes.

"You're smarter than people give you credit for, aren't you?" asked 7 with a smile.

8 laughed quietly. "When you're stupid, people don't expect much outta you," he said. 7 laughed and they sat, in contented silence, for a while. "Why're you out here?" asked 8.

"What do you care?" 7 demanded.

"It's something to talk about."

"I didn't think you liked to talk."

"One doesn't like me to talk," 8 corrected. "He thinks I never have anything good to say. Most of the time, he's right."

"Why do you even listen to him?"

"He kept us safe," 8 explained. "Yeah, he was mean about it, but he still did it. I respect him for that." There was another long pause. "You still didn't answer my question."

"Oh, um," said 7, reaching up to scratch the back of her neck as she blushed slightly. "I'm kind of cooling off. Got in a fight."

8 raised his eyebrows impassively. "With who? One?"

"No, Nine," said 7, still not quite meeting his eyes. "He, um…I was stupid."

"Doubt that," said 8, putting his knife down to take off his strap. "What happened?"

"You don't care."

"Try me."

7 sighed, but, then again, who else could she tell about this? Certainly not 5, he was 9's best friend. The twins were like her kids, she didn't want to burden them with her problems, and 0 and 6 were so happy, she didn't want to rain on their happiness by complaining about her own love life. Definitely not 1, and all 2 would do is make them 'talk' and 'share their feelings' or something, which she definitely didn't want to do. So that left…8.

"I made an error in judgment," said 7 carefully. "I assumed something I shouldn't have, and I paid the price for it."

"Stop talking like that," said 8, resting his elbow on his knee. "Tell me what happened."

"I thought 9…you know, was interested in me!" 7 exclaimed. "And he wasn't, and he made me feel like an idiot!"

"Geez," said 8, shaking his head and laughing. "That's funny."

"No it's not!"

"Of course it's not," said 8, smiling condescendingly at her.

"I'm leaving," said 7 furiously, jumping up and starting to walk off into the wastes.

"Whoa, wait, I'm sorry," said 8, still laughing as he stood and grabbed her wrist.

7 twisted her arm, trying to get 8 to let go. "Let me go!" she cried.

"Not a damn chance," said 8 firmly, keeping his grip. "Come back here."

"No!" said 7, finally wrenching her arm out of his grip only to stumble forward onto the ankle she'd forgotten she hurt. She cried out, more in shock than anything, and fell.

In an instant the look on 8's face changed from amusement to concern and he was by her side. "Stick it out, let me get a look at it," he commanded, kneeling in front of her.

7 only tucked it back further. "What do you care?" she demanded.

"Look, I'm sorry," said 8. "Just…lemme see it."

7 looked at him mistrustfully, then obediently stuck her ankle out. 8 inspected it for a moment, running his fingers over it, then looked up at her. "You popped it out of place," he said. "Hold your leg and I'll pop it back in." 7 gripped her leg and 8 took her foot in his massive paw and, with a quick jolt, popped it back into its groove.

7 rotated her ankle, shocked to see that it actually felt much better. "How'd you know that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at 8.

8 shrugged. "When you're the guard, you get hurt a lot," he explained as he stood and offered 7 his hand. "Eventually I figured out how to take care of myself."

"Well, thanks," said 7, accepting it and standing. She leaned on her ankle and was pleased to see that it actually was feeling much better. The big idiot _was_ good for something. Huh.

8 sat back down on his book and picked up the smaller of his two knives, tapping the flat of it against his leg. 7 sat beside him and 8 turned to her and asked, "So why's this Nine thing bothering you so much?"

"I don't know," sighed 7, looking at the ground. "I guess…I don't know. I feel cheated."

8 watched her for a moment, still tapping his knife, before replying, "It's not so much that you're lonely, it's that you're tired of being alone."

7 looked at him with amazement in her eyes. "That's right," she said, the slightest hint of curiosity peeking through her voice. "You're full of surprises tonight."

"Believe it or not, I have feelings, too," said 8 with a wry smile.

7 laughed. "You really _are_ smarter than we think," she said admiringly.

"Yeah," 8 replied with a half-hearted chuckle.

They spent the rest of the night like that, swapping stories and scars (of which they both had plenty), surprised that they hadn't become friends before this. When the sun came over the horizon and the others began to wake, the clan was shocked to hear laughter ringing throughout the library, one a pretty alto, the other a booming bass.

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><p>AN: I actually am a big fan of the character 8. I find him fascinating.


	13. Time and Again

Sorry about the radio silence, folks. Real life got in the way. But, I'm back now. With an extra-long chapter to make up for it. By the way, check out my DA (same username) to see some illustrations to go with this story.

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><p>"We're instating mandatory morning meetings," said 2 when everyone had woken up and made their way down to the open area at the foot of the bookcases. "So we can discuss what we'll be doing during the day, what we need if scouts are going out, guard rotations, etc."<p>

"Keeping tabs on us," said 7 flatly.

"In a sense," said 2 with his usual disarming smile. "One and I talked it over, and we decided we need to be more careful about our safety." He glanced at 6 and said, "Obviously, there are machines still out there."

6 rubbed a hand over the scar on his shoulder. "Yes," he said, sounding far away. "The machines—there are more. Lots more."

"How many more?" asked 2, but 6 just shook his head. "That's fine," said 2 gently. "If you feel anything more, just let me know. Now, plans for today: it's obviously too wet outside to leave. Was anyone planning on leaving?"

"We should use today's time to map out the library," said 9. "Since we have all day and we've only seen this small part."

"An excellent plan," said 2 with a grin. "One and I will stay here and hold down the fort."

"I can go," said 1. "I'm not a child."

"Quite the opposite," laughed 2. "You can't see a thing, One. You'll stay here with me. We can be old and infirm together." He turned to the twins. "You two can go, but I want you with people that can talk. If you hurt yourselves, we want to be able to hear you. Also, if it is possible, I would not like any…'romantically entangled' pairs out there, for safety and productivity's sake."

"Do you want to pair us up?" asked 5 with a bemused smile.

"If you don't mind," 2 replied. "It would certainly make me more comfortable."

"Go for it, then."

"Hmm," said 2, scratching his chin and inspecting the group. "All right, how about Zero and Five, Three and Nine, Four and Eight, and Six and Seven." Four shook his head violently. "Okay, Four and Six and Seven and Eight."

"Why not Four and Seven?" asked 1.

"Well, I can't very well pair up Six and Eight," muttered 2. "He threw him out of a window once."

"No need bringing that up," said 1 grumpily.

"So! Four groups, four corners," said 2, clapping his hands together.

"This could take days," said 9. "This place is huge."

"All right, let's make an overnight trip of it," said 2. "We'll meet back here at tomorrow's sunset. Everyone agree?"

'What's going on?' 0 signed to 4.

'We're going to explore the library!' 4 replied excitedly.

'In pairs,' 3 signed. 'You're with 5.'

'What?' 0 demanded, reaching for 6's hand like it was a security blanket. He tugged on it and she turned to him. 'We're splitting up?'

'You go with 5,' 6 signed. His signing had gotten better in the past few days, and he was now able to hold short, simple conversations with his mate. 'We'll be together tomorrow.'

'Tomorrow is so far away,' said 0, hugging 6 tightly. After a moment, 6 kissed her forehead like always and they separated.

"Are we all ready?" asked 2. Everyone nodded and went to their partner. Pointing to each corner as he said them, he said, "Zero and Five, take the north. Three and Nine, go south. Four and Six, east, and Seven and Eight, go west. One and I will hold down the fort here."

"You ready?" asked 5.

0 held up her pinkie, index finger, and thumb, and pressed her hand into 6's chest firmly. 6 did the same, and then they were off, picking their way across the books and towards parts unknown.

* * *

><p>3 and 9 spent the majority of their time together in silence. 9 scouted the bottoms of the shelves and 3 scampered up like a rat, leaping from shelf to shelf gracefully, never worrying if he fell. After hours of walking in silence through dictionaries and empty shelves, they saw something.<p>

"Look," 9 said, pointing down the aisle. At the end of it was a solid wooden door, slightly ajar, with a dented doorknob.

3 flickered his optics to light it up, traveling upward and finally landing on the label on the door that read: Microform. They carefully made their way over and peeked in.

"Whoa," 9 breathed as they fully stepped in, taking in the sight around them. The walls were lined with drawers and, sitting on the table as if it were a shrine, was a very dusty machine from before the bombs. It was made of wood, had a huge screen on the front, and had what looked to be a small tray in the bottom. 3 immediately dove into one of the drawers and pulled out a small reel around which was rolled thin, brown film.

"Let's get it up there," said 9, taking the film and allowing 3 to climb up the chair that sat in front of the table before passing it up and climbing up himself. One pass later, they were up on the counter. "Here, give me the end," said 9. 3 obeyed, and 9 started passing the film through the tray as 3 began climbing around the machine, trying to catalogue the whole thing.

"Huh," 9 said after a moment. "It's not doing anything." He leaned over to look at 3 just in time to watch the small doll strain against, and flip, a switch on the side.

Instantly the screen lit up. At the top was fancy script reading "The New York Times", just to the right of the words "All the News That's Fit to Print." However, the title was not what drew their attention: splashed across the middle of the screen was a gigantic picture of a boat—no, no, more of a ship. Four smokestacks blazing, portholes glistening, looking beautiful and amazingly tragic under the words "TITANIC SINKS FOUR HOURS AFTER HITTING ICEBERG; 866 RESCUED BY CARPATHIA, PROBABLY 1250 PERISH; ISMAY SAFE, MRS. ASTOR MAYBE, NOTED NAMES MISSING".

9 and 3 both gasped when the screen lit up, and 3 instantly set about cataloguing. When he'd finished that page, he pushed 9 over to the film and made him feed more into it, cataloguing like he was in withdrawal and the film was his heroin. They got through the roll quickly, and when it was finished, 3 handed the film to 9 and pointed at the wall of drawers. 9's optics traveled up and down it and realized, with a sigh, that it would be a long night.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, 4 and 6 had found a treasure of their own.<p>

6 had seen it first, pointing it out with an excited, "Sound!" 4 followed his finger and saw, with a smile, that he was indicating an old record player on a table, next to which were several boxes of records. They made their way over.

"How do we get up?" 6 asked, pointing up at the tabletop.

4 rubbed her chin, thinking, for a moment. Abruptly her eyes lit up and she grabbed 6's hand, pulling him over to the shelf of books next to them and pulling down a book. Together they carried it to the table leg and set it down before going back and getting another book to set on top of it.

"A tower?" asked 6, knitting his brows together. 4 shook her head and made him help her get another book, setting it in front of the platform they'd already made.

"Stairs!" said 6 excitedly. 4 gave him a quick thumbs up, then dragged him back to get more books.

They worked for hours. Stair making was slow business at best even with all ten dolls working; with only two, it took much, much longer. Not long before the sun set they finished, and the two dolls climbed up their makeshift staircase, over Twain and Fitzgerald and Shakespeare, to finally reach the top.

"There's one already there," mumbled 6, pointing to the player. He was right: a record, dusty and slightly warped, was already sitting on the needle. 4 jumped on top of the player and set the needle down as 6 turned the crank. It started slowly, sounding as warped as it looked for a moment, before the music, flutes and violins in a beautiful pizzicato, clarified. A single clarinet trilled out a sprightly but still lovely, simple melody before two children began to sing.

"Dites-moi pourqoi la vie est belle," they chirped in their innocent young voices. "Dites moi pourqoi la vie est gai. Dites-moi pourqoi chere mademoiselle; est-ce que parce-que vous m'aimes?"

"That's…what is that?" asked 6. 4 shrugged. French was her brother's strong suit, not hers. The record began playing the next song, much more upbeat and sung in English by a woman, but 6 wasn't listening. "Dites-moi…pourqoi…" 6 sang to himself. 4 raised an eyebrow. She'd never heard 6 sing before. Hum, yes, in that tuneless, distracted way of his, but never sing. His voice was far from beautiful, but clear as glass. "Again," 6 said.

4 lifted the needle and replaced it at the beginning of the record, playing the French song again. This time 6 sang along, quietly, trying to get the words correct. "Again," he repeated when it finished. 4 obeyed, but as soon as she set the needle down she wandered off to catalogue the records on the table. She could still hear 6 singing and replacing the needle, as many times as it took for him to learn it and for it to get stuck in her head. When finally they were too exhausted to do anything else, they curled up inside an overturned record box, arms around each other, both of them imagining they were with someone else, 6 still humming that song.

* * *

><p>"So, you still hung up on that Nine thing?" asked 8 from the ground.<p>

"Not really," 7 replied from the top of the bookcase she was standing on. "Only as much as I'm still embarrassed."

"Still?"

"Well, yeah. It was humiliating."

"You take it too seriously," said 8 dismissively.

"I do not!" said 7 with a laugh. "I take it perfectly seriously!"

"Says you," said 8 with a careful smile. 7 could hear it and it made her smile as well. He was so un-used to smiling; when he did, it was like a gift.

"Are you ready to stop for the night?" she asked.

"Yeah," 8 replied, shading his eyes to look up at her. She quickly but carefully made her way down and landed, cat-like, at 8's feet.

"Well, let's make camp," she said, dragging a book off the shelf. 8 helped her stack books on the floor in front of the shelf and soon they had a little nook all their own. 7 settled herself in the corner, her helmet over her eyes, dozing but not asleep. 8 sat down awkwardly on the other side, fiddling with his smaller knife.

"What's got you worked up?" asked 7 after a moment.

"Not worked up," said 8 firmly. 7 lifted her helmet and smiled slyly at him. "Not worked up!"

"Okay, whatever you say," she said, holding her hands up and laying back again.

There was a long moment of silence between them. "You ever…never mind," 8 began.

"What?" asked 7.

"Never mind."

"Do I ever what?"

"You ever think, maybe, we…?"

7 tipped her helmet up to look at him with shock and skepticism. "We what?"

"You know. You and me…?"

"Why?" asked 7, sitting up. "Why are you even bringing this up?"

"It, um," said 8, not quite meeting her hard eyes. "It's something to talk about."

"No, Eight," said 7 firmly.

"Why?"

"Why?" 7 demanded. "We have too much history. We butt heads too often. I'm not emotionally attracted to you. The list goes on."

"'S not what I'm asking," 8 grunted.

"What are you asking, then?"

8 was silent for a moment, then said, "Not emotionally?"

"No."

"Physically?"

7 chuckled a little sadly. "I could be physically attracted to anyone right now, Eight. I could be physically attracted to Five, for the creator's sake."

8 was silent for another moment. "What about just physical?"

"I'm not sure I could _do_ just physical," said 7, before seeming to snap out of it. "Why are we even discussing this? It's not going to happen. I'm not sure why you even brought it up."

"I've been thinking."

"There's a new one."

Ignoring the barb, 8 continued. "You and me…_feel_ the same way," he spat, as though the word was acid on his tongue. "You're lonely. I'm lonely. Why not just once?"

"Why not _what_ just once?"

"Kiss," said 8 bluntly. "Touch. Sleep by me. Like Zero and Six."

"You're no Six," said 7 warily.

"You're no Zero," 8 replied bluntly. He flexed his hands, his face contorted, like he was trying to come up with the words. "I want…what they have."

7 stared at 8, feeling her heart melt just the littlest bit. "You do have feelings."

"Course I have feelings," 8 snapped. He ran his hand over his head nervously, and then said, "You're pretty. You're tough. I like you. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize."

8 seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then said, "I have a book."

"What?"

"A book. Three and Four found it. I stole it."

"You _stole_ it?"

"They have lots of books, they won't miss one. It was shorter than the others. The words were longer, but the lines were shorter. I read one page until I memorized it."

"What was it?"

8 made a face, then began reciting. "Time and again, however well we know the landscape of love, and the little church-yard with lamenting names, and the frightfully silent ravine wherein all the others end: time and again we go out two together, under the old trees, lie down again and again between the flowers, face to face with the sky."

7 stared at him. She'd expected some little story, not…whatever that was. Her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. What was that? What made him say it? Why was this happening? This was not the 8 she knew. But, somehow, against her own wishes…she found herself liking it.

"Quit staring," 8 grunted after a moment.

"What was that?" 7 asked in wonder.

"Something someone wrote, I dunno," said 8, sounding self-conscious. "I just remembered it."

"Why did you memorize it?" 8 mumbled something she couldn't hear. "What?"

"It reminded me of you." They both sat silent for a moment, and then, faintly, they heard a song playing, quiet and almost out of earshot, but still there. "I'm sorry," 8 repeated, turning his head to look at the floor, his legs pointed in front of him.

7 stood and dropped her helmet and spear on the floor. As if someone else was controlling her body, she found herself walking, haltingly, over to 8, settling herself on his legs when she reached him.

8's optics widened. "What're you—"

7 didn't say anything; just wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed herself forward, and kissed that striped mouth for all it was worth.

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><p>AN: I've been waiting forever to write that.


	14. Lost

Short, but intense. Sidenote, I love all you reviewers. You keep my batteries charged.

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><p>The next morning, all of the exploring dolls were woken by 2's voice.<p>

"Everyone please report back to the center of the library immediately!" His weathered voice was tremulous. "Immediately!"

"Do you think everything's okay?" asked 7 sleepily.

8 shifted beneath her. "Dunno."

7 was silent for a moment. "We should go."

Everyone reached the middle of the library more or less quickly, with only 4 and 6 lagging behind. When they all reached the open area at the base of their bookshelf home, they were greeted with the sight of a pacing 2, glowering 1, and extremely upset and guilty-looking 5. "Good, we're all here," sighed 2 when everyone arrived. "I have some upsetting news. We—"

"Where's Zero?" asked 6 immediately, seeing that she wasn't with 5.

"That's what we need to talk about," said 2, putting a hand on 6's shoulder. "She's missing."

6's mouth opened slightly and his optics widened, his brain no quite comprehending what 2 was saying. 9 gasped and the twins clutched at each other. "What?"

"She's missing," 1 said briskly. "Probably ran off in the night. Knew she was no—"

"Without me?" demanded 6, gripping his key tightly. "She wouldn't—she—_where is she_?"

"We're going to mount a search and rescue," said 2 as soothingly as he could. "Nine, Five, Seven, and Eight."

"And me."

"You're still hurt from before."

"_And me._"

2 held up his hands in a surrender. "And you. All right."

"Who's gonna look after you guys?" asked 8.

"We'll barricade," said 2. "We can watch after ourselves. We're more capable than you think."

6 suddenly pointed at 5. "You were with her!" he cried. "What happened?"

"I don't know," 5 murmured, unable to meet 6's eyes. "When I woke up, she was gone."

6 began pacing furiously. "Something—happened. Came and got her. Took—took her?" He looked mistrustfully at 5. "She can't hear."

"I'm sorry," 5 whispered.

"It's not Five's fault, Six," said 9. "You heard him, he woke up and she was gone."

"Why only her?"

This gave 9 pause. _Why_ only her? "I don't know. Maybe because she was the only one it could get to."

"What it?"

"I don't know, I'm just…speculating. Me and Four were awake through the night. What about you and Three?"

"Slept next to each other."

9 turned to 7 and 8. "What about you two?"

"Uh, we, um," sputtered 7, a blush creeping up her face.

"Guard rotations," grunted 8. When 9 turned away, 7 smiled at him appreciatively.

"And you and Zero?" 9 asked 5.

"We slept apart," he said, still sounding shaky. "And at the same time."

"That was a stupid thing to do," spat 1. "We already knew there were more machines out there, why did you tempt fate?"

"I didn't think they'd get into the library!"

"Well, obviously, you thought wrong."

Everyone started talking at once. "So do we definitely think a machine took her?"

"Possible. Even plausible."

"Did you hear anything?"

"No, did you?"

"I think she—"

"We can't possibly—"

"I just don't—"

"_Stop talking!_" 6 screamed. The conversation screeched to an abrupt halt as everyone stared at 6. He was breathing heavily, his fingers stiff and slightly curled in. "Why the—talking? She's hurt! She's out there! Need to get her!"

"We will," said 7, touching 6's shoulder. "We need to come up with a plan first."

6's head whipped around to look at each of them, then he shrugged off 7's hand and dashed out the front door.

"Six, wait!" yelled 9.

"I'll make sure he doesn't leave," said 7, beginning to walk after him. "Give us a minute, then come after."

9 nodded and 7 pushed her helmet over her eyes and took off, much faster than 6's clumsy feet. He had a head start on her, so when he reached the top of the book pile, he shoved a few down onto her and kept running. One caught her hand and she lost her grip; she just grimaced and kept climbing. When she reached the top of the pile, she paused just long enough to see the striped doll still sprinting across the porch towards the muddy dirt in the courtyard. 7 smiled slightly and pushed off, bending her torso into the aerodynamic position she always adopted when chasing a beast, and catching up to 6 just as he stepped off the porch. She tackled him, spinning them both into the mud.

"Gerroff!" yelled 6.

"No," said 7 firmly, straddling his legs and locking his arms behind him. "We need to come up with a plan!"

"Need to _get her_," said 6, struggling desperately. "She's—she's hurt!"

"How can you tell?"

"Feel it." 6 strained against her arms. "Let go!"

"Six, no."

"I need to get her!" 6 sounded like he was about to bust into tears. "Need to take care of her! I—I didn't, and now, _now_! I need, _need_, Seven. I love her! I _lost_ her!"

"You haven't lost her," said 7, relaxing her grip so as not to hurt him. "She's lost, but you haven't lost her."

"My door," 6 whispered. "She's lost. My door." He suddenly went limp. 7 lifted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow. After a moment of holding him up, she let go, and he went face-first into the mud, not bothering to try to lift himself up.

"Geez, you said you'd stop him, not kill him," called 8 from the porch.

7 suppressed a laugh and yelled, "Just get down here." Three sets of feet followed her instruction, joining her about a foot away to avoid getting bogged in the mud.

"I'm bad," 6 said without inflection.

"You're not bad," said 7, standing and offering her hand to the now-muddy doll. "Things happen. You can't protect her all the time."

6 laid immobile for another moment, then weakly reached up and accepted her hand. He walked over to the others with her, his head down.

"We're going to try the factory ruins first," said 9 when they reached them. "If she's not there, we'll go underground. Then to the fields. We'll work from there."

"Good plan," said 7 approvingly. She turned to 6. "Sound good?"

6 nodded, but still didn't look up. 9 hesitated, then put a hand on 6's shoulder. When the smaller doll looked up at him, he said, as firmly as he could, "We'll find her."

6 stared at him, then nodded. "Okay," he whispered. 9 gave him an encouraging smile, patted his shoulder, and set off, 5 by his side. They fell into another line: 9 leading them, 5 close behind, wringing his hands, 8 in the middle, keeping his eyes straight ahead, 7 behind him, her optics always darting back and forth, looking for danger, and 6 in the rear, his hand upsettingly, painfully empty.

* * *

><p>Far away, 0 curled up around herself, feeling she'd cry in pain if only she could. She gently lay on her side and tucked her knees up to her chin, making herself as small as possible and shaking in fear and pain. She pushed her arms close to her chest, across each other. Her thimble was lying close by, but she didn't (or couldn't) reach to get it. Her scar had been ripped out; the denim on her chest now hung loose and frayed. Something was missing in her insides, but she didn't know what. Obviously nothing really important.<p>

However, while 0's chest and insides definitely hurt, her hands absolutely radiated pain. She felt she could light a fire with only the white-hot pain she felt at the end of each of her palms. This made her shake harder, her breaths coming in fits and starts, the long oval '0' on her back straining to accommodate how taut she stretched her denim to make herself tiny, insignificant.

All around her, scattered about, were small, broken pieces of copper and wood.


	15. The Brave Tin Soldier

If you get a chance, check out the Brave Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Anderson. It's very good. Much better than 5's retelling.

* * *

><p>It was late. There was darkness cloaking the world outside the window, stars dotting the sky. Intermittently the bright orange flames of an explosion lit up the night, but mostly, it stayed quiet. 6, newly awakened, was sketching the things he saw around him. For whatever reason, whenever he saw the round thing the Scientist had drawn those little symbols on, he felt one tug in his brain and another in his fingers, and he drew it. He drew other things, too: the man, his tools, the blueprints of a doll that rested on his table. The Scientist worked, quietly, occasionally glancing at 6 but mostly focused on his work.<p>

When finally it was too dark to see, the man extinguished his candle. 6 expected him to leave, but he didn't: he sat still at his table, his gnarled hands resting on top of his papers. He looked suddenly very old and tired to 6. A broken man.

After a moment he leaned over and turned on a record player, one of the modern ones that you didn't need to wind. He gently rested the needle on the album that currently rested there and, after a moment of crackling silence, the music began. It was homemade: a bright piano in the background, then two children, singing. "Dites-moi pourqois la vie est belle," they sang, one slightly behind in the rhythm, the other slightly flat. "Dites-moi pourqois la vie est gai. Dites-moi pourqoi chere mademoiselle; est-ce que, parce-que vous m'aimes?" They giggled, then one spoke. "Daddy, why are we singing this?"

"Because you two have beautiful voices," said a man, his voice deep and almost booming. 6 noticed the Scientist's hands had wrapped around themselves. "And for Granddad." The Scientist winced.

"Hello, Granddad!" cried one child, what sounded like a boy.

"Hi, Granddad!"

"Tell them which is which."

"It's Will and Linda!"

"We wanted to say we love you!"

"Shut up!"

"Kids, kids," said a woman's voice, piping up for the first time. A dark voice, one of those voices that sounded like it was singing even when it wasn't. She laughed. "Hello, Dad. The kids wanted to try out the recorder, so we're giving you this record. Oh, why am I saying this? I'll just tell you when we come and see you."

Tears were now pouring freely down the Scientist's face. He bent his head and 6 walked over, putting a small hand on his shoulder. "We love you, Granddad!" the boy, Will, chirped.

"We love you!"

"Love you, Dad," said the woman again. "We'll see you soon." The record ended, and more static issued forth.

"I love you, too," the Scientist whispered. After another moment of weakness, during which 6 only quietly stroked the white hairs that gently brushed the top of his collar, the Scientist sat up slowly and wiped his face. "Thank you," he said to 6. He stood, removed the needle from the record, and left.

6 watched the door, wondering if the man would come back, before his attention was grabbed by a shuffling noise. He whipped around in time to see a flash of blue dart back from the edge of the shelf that hung beside the man's desk. Quickly, he grabbed a few pieces of paper and climbed up, hoping that whatever was up there wouldn't leave.

* * *

><p>6 stayed up that night, pacing. The rescue group had made camp about three-fourths of the way to the factory, and while 7, 8, and 9 slept, 5 and 6 stayed up. 5 was technically the only one on guard duty, but 6 had found it impossible to stay still, much less sleep. 5 watched from his perch atop a car wheel behind which the others slept as 6 paced in front of it.<p>

"You're going to have to stop sometime," said 5.

"No."

"You're going to exhaust yourself."

"Yes."

"How will you be any good if you're tired?"

6 shrugged.

"Six. Rest."

"No."

5 sighed, defeated. "Suit yourself."

After another silence, another footstep-filled silence, another tense, tired silence, 6 turned to 5. "You're dumb."

5 frowned. "What an awful thing to say."

"S'not awful. True."

"I'm sorry. I should've kept a closer eye on Zero."

6 grunted. "Should've. Not what I'm talking about."

"What are you talking about, then?"

"You and Nine."

5 blushed. "We talked about this."

"No. Not really." 6 stared at 5, waiting for a proper answer.

"Six…" 5 trailed off, collecting his thoughts. "What you and Zero had—"

"_Have_," said 6 fiercely.

"Have, of course, that's what I meant," 5 corrected himself quickly. "What you and Zero have is very special. There aren't a lot of people that have that. Definitely not among our clan."

"Not true," said 6 quickly. "One and Two."

"One and Two are friends. They don't have what you and Zero have."

"Do too!"

5's eyebrows drew together. "Six, you're tired, and I don't want to have this—"

"Saw them!" 6 insisted. "In the throne room! When I was sick. Kissing." 6 crossed his arms. "Crazy, not blind."

"Listen, Six—"

"I'm not a child!" 6 yelled. 5 sat back, shocked. He'd never heard 6 talk like this before. "I'm not crazy! You don't listen! No one listens! I was right and I was crazy and no one listened then and no one listens now!"

"What are you _talking_ about?"

"Everyone only listens when they want to see if a monster's near," said 6, slightly quieter but no less rage-filled. "One didn't listen about the source. You don't listen about Nine. No one listens."

"No one but Zero?"

5 immediately regretted his words as he watched 6's face crumple from anger to fear and sadness. He covered his mismatched optics with his fingers, sinking down to the glistening pavement. He hunched over, running his fingers through his mop of hair. "No one but Zero," he whispered.

5 jumped down and walked over, kneeling and putting a hand on 6's shoulder. 6 lunged forward, pulling 5 into a hug so intense 5 feared he'd fall over. 5 matched 6's firmness, rubbing his back as 6 shook and made small, strangled noises in the back of his throat. "I wish I could _cry_," 6 moaned.

"We weren't built to cry," said 5 with a small smile.

"I know. I just wish I could." 6 leaned back, not quite releasing 5, and said, "You have to tell him."

"Six—"

"No, Five. Listen. You have to tell him." 6's eyes darted about as he tried to keep his thoughts with him. It was easier, now, but sometimes they still slipped away. "I love Zero. I _love_ her. And you love Nine. And he needs to know. Five, being in love…it's the best. The _best_. You should have that. Nine should, too."

"Okay," said 5 quietly, giving 6 an encouraging smile. "I'll tell him. Okay?"

"Okay." 6 finally allowed the thoughts to drift away. He stood and walked over to the wheel, sitting in front of it. "Tell me a story."

5 came over and sat beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "What kind of story?"

"A fairy story. Like in the book."

"Okay." 5 thought for a moment, then began. "Once upon a time, there were twenty-five tin soldiers that had been given to a human boy as a gift. They were handsomely painted, and looked sharp and smart in their red-and-blue uniforms and straight formation."

"Except?"

"Except for one. The very last tin soldier only had one leg, so he didn't stand quite as straight or look quite as nice, but the little boy loved him anyway. Now, inside the home where they lived, their was also a little girl, and she had a little porcelain ballerina that she loved. The ballerina stood inside a little house, with one leg up in a pretty little pose, and this made the tin soldier think that she only had one leg, like him. 'Oh, she is beautiful,' he thought, 'and she is talented; what would she want with a one-legged soldier like me?'"

"But they fell in love anyway?"

"Not quite. At night, when everyone was asleep, the toys came alive."

"What did they do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Told stories, played games. But the little tin soldier only sat in his box and looked at the ballerina, who never once moved except to blink."

"Why?"

"Dedication to the craft, I suppose." 5 shrugged. "Anyways, the little tin soldier, near the end of the night, managed to lift himself up onto the windowsill and hop forward, with the intent of finally speaking to the beautiful girl. However, there was another who wanted her hand."

"No!"

"Sh, the others are sleeping," said 5 with a smile. "Yes, another wanted her hand. An evil jack-in-the-box. When he saw the soldier climbing across the windowsill to go talk to the ballerina, he shoved him right out onto the street!" 6 gasped, but didn't speak. "He fell into the gutter, and the rain washed him down. He managed to float through the sewage, set upon by rats and beetles and all manner of beasties, but he held tight to the memory of his love and made it through. Eventually, the sewer bled into the sea, and the tin soldier was swallowed by a fish. However—"

"However?"

"However, the fates were smiling on him, for the fish was caught by a fish-seller, and the little boy's mother bought the fish from the market that day. She took it home and began cutting it open, and what do you know, the little tin soldier fell out! The boy, who had been looking for him, was overjoyed! He took him and put him back into the playroom with the others. And, um…"

"What?" 6 yawned.

"Gimme a second. Okay, that night, the tin soldier told his brothers what had happened and they all fought the evil jack-in-the-box and threw him into the fire. When he was dead, the ballerina finally moved, lowering her other leg, and when the soldier saw she had two legs, he was devastated. Why would she ever love a one-legged man like him? He turned away, but she quickly rushed over and kissed him and they lived happily ever after. The end."

He turned to 6 to see what he thought, only to discover that the other doll was fast asleep on his shoulder. 5 said nothing, only pulled him a little closer and let him rest, carrying him back behind the wheel when his rotation was up.


	16. My Name is Zero

I normally don't respond to reviews in the author's notes, but I felt the need to respond to this one. S.C. Smith, you're absolutely correct, the original Brave Tin Soldier did end differently, diverging right where 5 gets flustered. This is akin to an adult editing a depressing story so as not to upset the child. In the original story, the soldier and the ballerina both burn to death in the fireplace.

* * *

><p>'My name is Zero. I am older than my friends. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four. I don't know where I am. My hands hurt.'<p>

0 laid on the floor, curled up and thinking to herself. Whatever had stolen her away in the night had now blindfolded her, and she was struggling to cope with the sensory deprivation. Occasionally something would come by and kick her in the ribs. When she felt the vibrations, she would shy away, and then they wouldn't hurt her. It was only when she didn't feel them that they hurt her. She'd taken to flinching at the slightest vibration, even if they were caused by herself. She'd also taken to repeating facts in her head to stave off madness.

'My name is Zero. I am older than my friends. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four. I don't know where I am. My hands hurt.'

She had no idea where she was. Someplace cold, but then again, everything was cold, now. Soon it would start snowing.

'My name is Zero. I am older than my friends. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four. I don't know where I am. My hands hurt.'

Her hands still hurt, but it was less white-hot now, and more dull. An ache, right at the end of her palms. She'd wouldn't move her fingers anymore because, for some strange reason, she believed they weren't there.

'My name is Zero. I am older than my friends. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four. I don't know where I am. My hands hurt.'

A vibration! She quickly flinched away and the thing, whatever it was that had taken her, stroked her head with a spindly appendage. She had no idea what it was. It was the one hurting her, but it wasn't the one that had taken her. Those things flew, and they were silent. She knew because, when she'd been taken, they hadn't woken anyone else.

'My name is Zero. I am older than my friends. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four. I don't know where I am. My hands hurt.

'Six. Six. Keep thinking about Six. He'll get you. He's coming to get you.

'What if he isn't?

'_Shut up! He is!_

'What if he thinks you're just as useless as everyone else does?

'_He loves me!_

'What if he doesn't?'

She moved her foot, and the vibration of it scraping against the floor caused her to jump and squirm. She pressed her open scar and her palms against the cold floor, hoping the feeling would cool the heat there, offering even the slightest bit of relief.

'My name is Zero. I am older than my friends. I am deaf. I am in love with Six.

'Seven loves Nine. Nine loves Five. Five loves Nine. And Zero loves Six. Six loves Zero, too.

'One fine evening, a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in the wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water that rose in the midst of it, she sat herself down to rest a while.'

* * *

><p>"I don't think she's here," said 7, stepping off the gigantic mound of junk.<p>

"I don't think so, either," said 9, shielding his eyes to look at the setting sun. They'd spent the day searching the factory ruins with no luck.

"She can't hear!" said 6. "She might not…know."

"Let's go underground for the night," said 5, putting his arm around 6, "and in the morning we can look down there."

"But it's been a whole day."

"She's tough. She'll be okay."

6 sighed, knowing it was useless to argue, as the group made their way into the underbelly of the factory. The trek was abysmal, all of them tired and discouraged, and seeing the charred hall where they thought they'd burned the last of the B.R.A.I.N. was no help for their nerves. They slowly made a camp, 7 and 8 volunteering to take first guard rotation so they could hopefully encourage 6 to get some sleep. Although 8 had done nothing to harm 6 since their awakening, 6 remained skittish around him, and typically wasn't able to spend more than a few minutes in his presence.

6 curled up against 5 and fell asleep nearly instantly. 5 put a protective arm around him and followed his example, stretching his legs out and resting his head against 6's. 9 stayed awake a little longer, but not much; eventually he couldn't stop his head dipping down to his chest and, after a moment of trepidation, pressed his back to 5's arm and fell asleep.

"What do you think happened to her?" 7 asked when they were sure the others were asleep.

8 shrugged. "Coulda run off. Not sure why, though."

"That's what I'm thinking. She didn't really have a reason to run off. Why would she?"

"Dunno."

"Could a machine have taken her? I mean, she was in the library. None of the rest of us were taken. And no machine is that quiet, right?"

"Dunno."

"But if she left, why would she have left Six behind? That love was real. Why would she abandon him?"

"Dunno."

7 gave him an exasperated look. "You're no help."

"I just dunno. I've been thinking, too. The only thing I keep coming back to is that she was taken. I just don't know why." 7 sighed deeply. 8 turned his head to look at her and, upon seeing the expression on her face, leaned over and picked her up as easily as one picks up a pencil, and settled her on his lap, wrapping his arms around her protectively. "What is it?"

"I don't like to think about another machine that can think," said 7 quietly, settling herself back against 8's chest and pressing her forehead into his neck. It was an easy, comfortable position, like sitting in a gigantic, warm easy chair. "Or one that's _that_ quiet."

"Yeah, I don't like that." 8 folded his arms across her stomach and pulled her close, planting a small kiss on her neck.

7 sighed, reaching up to touch his cheek. After a moment of silence, she said, "You had the right instincts."

"What?"

"You're no Six. And I'm no Zero." She nuzzled against him. "But that's okay."

8 loved when she got like this, something he'd noticed on their first night together. They had easiness about their relationship, an ability to open up and be honest like they had with no one else. His theory was that it was because they were the only ones who could physically rival each other, so they didn't have to worry about hurting each other. 8 kissed her forehead, allowing himself to become the person he only was with her.

* * *

><p>'My name is Zero. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four. I don't know where I am.'<p>

It had shortened, she knew that. But she was struggling to remember what it was that she'd stopped thinking. 6 was still there, all stripes and ink stains and mismatched eyes, and 4 was there, her hood pulled tight and her hands fluttering signs that 0 couldn't quite catch.

'My name is Zero. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four. I don't know where I am.'

The thing was talking, and that was the worst. Well, not quite the worst; the worst was the pain. It had taken to slapping her palm when she didn't flinch, so she'd stopped sleeping. Everything was still dark, obscured by the black band of fabric wound tight around her optics, enough that whenever she moved, she felt it move, too, reminding her that she was still in bondage.

'My name is Zero. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is…is Four. Four. Four.'

Why did she have trouble remembering that? The thing was still talking. The vibrations in its voice made her believe that she was about to be attacked again, so she laid still, breath baited, waiting for any change in inflection so she could move.

'My name is Zero. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four.'

6 was coming for her. He had to be. But how could he find her if she didn't even know where she was?

'My name is Zero. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four.'

The vibrations stopped. Was it gone? Had it left? Could she take the blindfold off now? Better not, in case it comes back.

'My name is Zero. I am deaf. I am in love with Six. My best friend is Six. My other best friend is Four.'

* * *

><p>"So, we'll check the fields next?" said 5, lowering a sheet of metal. They'd been unable to find 0 in the underground, even after absolutely tearing the place apart.<p>

6 made a terrified noise in the back of his throat. "Two days!"

"I know, I know," said 5 soothingly. "But we'll find her."

"What if we _don't_?"

"Six, we will," said 9. "Now stop thinking like that."

6 stared at 9 for a minute, something connecting behind his eyes. "Stop thinking!" he said excitedly, a smile gracing his face for the first time in days. "Yes!" He scrambled off, clambering up the top of a pile of junk, and gripped his key, closing the light out of his optics and slowly exhaling. Nobody said a word, just watching the scene with fascination, as he appeared to know what he was doing. After a moment of watching this insane doll stand stone-still, only moving to breathe, 9 walked up.

"Six?"

As soon as his name was uttered, 6's eyes snapped open and he spun around, racing down the hill towards the exit.

"Six!" yelled 7, running after him. He screeched to a halt, sending 7 barreling into him and knocking them both to the ground.

"The first room!" 6 cried, a delirious smile on his face. "She's in the first room! I know where she is!"

"That's another day's walk from here, Six," said 7, picking herself up and pulling him up, too. "We've been searching all day. We need rest."

"Okay, okay." His breathing slowed and he paced, calming down. "We'll rest. Tomorrow, first thing—the first room."

"Can do," said 5, leading the doll back to their camp from the previous night.

* * *

><p>'Name is Zero. Deaf. In love with Six. Best friend is Four.'<p>

Sleep when she could. Wake up after five minutes, jump, flinch. Stay safe. Wait.

'Name is Zero. Deaf. In love with Six. Best friend is Four.'

Darkness. Thoughts were shorter. Everything gone, silence, blindness, madness.

'Name is Zero. Deaf. In love with Six. Best friend is Four.'

Vibrations come and she moves. A thin tendril strokes her head; she's done well.

'Name is Zero. Deaf. In love with Six. Best friend is Four.'

6. 6. She must remember. He will come. He must come.


	17. Doctor

First, of course, a ton of love for my reviewers. Nothing makes me happier than seeing "FF Review Alert" in my inbox.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the villain.

* * *

><p>The sun was beginning to set when the dolls finally reached the house.<p>

"It's quiet," said 7, slowly readying her spear.

"And…still," 5 agreed. The rescue group stared at the second-story window, drawing their weapons silently, waiting for some sign that there was something in there.

"Are you sure this is where she is?" 9 whispered. 6 nodded, gripping the silver sewing scissors tightly.

Something shifted in the darkness.

"Spiderbot!" cried 7, jumping back and leaping up to stab this little spiderbot that was crawling down the wall with more vehemence than was probably necessary. She bent down to inspect her kill, something she typically only did when there was something off about it.

"What is it?" asked 9, coming to crouch beside her.

"That," said 7, pointing to the tail end of the mechanical bug. There, sticking out of the little fold on its back, was a propeller.

"Why would a spiderbot need a propeller?" asked 5, scratching his head. "Six, you've been quiet, what do you—" 5 turned to see the striped doll staring up at the window, mouth agape, pointing finger trembling. 5 looked up and his jaw dropped as well.

Spiderbots. Hundreds of them. Flying.

Before either of them had time to respond, the army of flies descended on them, grabbing each doll with powerful legs and hauling them up to the window. It took at least six of them to grab 8, and more to grab 7, since she kept slicing the balloons that were attached to their backs. However, sheer numbers overwhelmed and the dolls were flown into the place where they first woke and deposited on the tables.

"Ha, spiders! Stand down!" came a voice from the darkness.

9 grabbed 6's scissors and spun towards it, holding them in front of himself threateningly. "Who are you?" he demanded. He heard 8 flip his knife over in his hands. "What do you want?"

"Where's Zero?" 6 demanded.

In the darkness in front of them, the telltale one red eye of the beasts lit up, casting the dolls in an eerie red glow. Ant-like sounds whispered beside it, the sound of thin tendrils dragging on the ground, until finally, slowly, the beast revealed itself.

It came out one section at a time, head first. It looked like a centipede, with each section of its body made of a C-shaped piece of metal or plastic, each segment attached to progressively smaller legs. It gave the impression of rearing up (or lording) over them. Dangling off the front two sets of legs were long pieces of wiring that came close to dragging on the ground. The head sat far above them, what looked like a decrepit golf ball wired up with the eye; a second 'eye' (actually just a red marble) had been placed next to that one. Two powerful pincers jutted out just below them, looking strong enough to crush any of them in one fell swoop.

On its neck, freshly wired in, was a voice box, out of which a tinny female voice emerged. "You must be the others," said the beast, carefully touching its second set of legs together. "I was wondering when you'd arrive."

"You…can talk?" asked 9.

"Naturally."

"What do you want?"

"Where's Zero?" begged 6.

"In due time, in due time," said the beast, nodding. "First, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Doctor, a trained psychiatrist. My, I suppose you could call it 'mission', is to learn about the frailties and flaws in the psyche." It looked pointedly at the skeletal form of the Scientist on the ground below them. "I would prefer humans, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of those around, so…."

"So," said 7, lowering her spear slightly (only slightly), "you've been trying to find out Zero's…frailties?"

"That could take forever," said 8 with a smirk.

"Shut up!" said 6 fiercely, which immediately silenced 8. He pushed his way beside 9 and repeated, vehemently, "_Where's Zero_?"

"Tsk tsk," said the Doctor, waving a spindly leg at 6. "Anger issues. Overprotectiveness. Can't be healthy for either of your psyches."

"I don't know what that is!" said 6 furiously.

"Ah, the psyche," mused the Doctor. "How can I put this? Well, the word was brought about in classic Greek mythology as the girl who Eros, one of the gods of human love, fell in love with. Most believe she was also a personification of the soul. I suppose it could still be viewed as such, or rather, the mind or spirit. In my field of study it's more traditionally defined as the mental or psychological makeup of a person or other living creature: case in point, you little things." It moved slightly, curling its long back end forward. "More than anything, I want to understand it. What makes people do the irrational things they do. How emotions work. Most importantly," the red eye seemed to grow brighter, "how to break them."

6 felt the breath leave his body. How to…break them? "What?" he whispered.

"Yes. I view the psyche as, to oversimplify, very similar to a branch. I want to understand how much pressure it takes to make it bend, and how much you need to add to make it _snap_," said the Doctor, clicking its pincers together on the last word.

"You broke her?"

"I certainly hope so," said the Doctor. "I've been keeping her in sensory deprivation, easy because she's already incapable of hearing, or so I gathered. I've also been training her to have a Pavlovian response to any kind of vibration, and I've—"

"I need Zero," said 6, his voice colder than any of his friends had ever heard. "You need to leave."

"Leave?" demanded the Doctor, raising an arm to its chest. "But I've only just begun with her. I need to see how far I can break her before she truly has nothing left."

"As long as she has us, she'll never have nothing left," said 9 firmly.

"How noble," said the Doctor flatly. "The fact remains, I'm not done with her, and I'll not have you undo my work."

With that threat, 7 leapt forward, hoping to catch the beast by surprise, but as she did a great wall of flying spiderbots raised up from below the table and begun pelting themselves at the group. Now that they had sure footing, it was fairly easy for the rescue group to take them down (7 punctured the balloons and then stabbed them when they hit the ground, while 8 preferred to just cut the whole thing in half midair). However, the pure number of the annoying little things made the operation time consuming, and when they were finished and the tabletop was practically coated with bits and pieces of spider, the Doctor was long gone.

"What was _that_?" demanded 5, pointing after it.

"It can think—it can _talk_!" said 7, pushing her hand under her helmet.

"Do you think it took Zero with it?" asked 9, his eyebrows knitting together.

"No," said 6 firmly, his head outstretched as if he was listening for something. After a moment, he took off at a breakneck pace towards a few stacks of books, leaping on top of them and climbing up to a shelf that hung just over the window. The other dolls followed closely, reaching the shelf just in time to hear 6 sob, "Oh, no."

In the corner, blindfolded and mangled, was 0, shivering. Her scar was ripped open and wires were sticking out; as they watched, her violent shaking caused two of them to meet and spark, sending her into another wave of convulsions. Her arms were tied to the walls, and all over her sides were scuff marks and small tears, like she'd been beaten badly. She seemed to be pressing herself into the corner so hard that she'd surely disappear. She kicked out, once, her foot connecting with her thimble hat and sending it towards her group of friends. It landed at 8's foot; he carefully picked it up and rested it on top of his paring knife.

Most horrifyingly, her palms had each been split down the middle, and bits and pieces of her fingers were scattered around the ground beside her.

6 took a halting step towards her, but it was all too much for him, and he sank to his knees and crawled the rest of the way there. With each of his movements, 0 seemed to struggle further away. Eventually 6 reached her and tore off the blindfold, revealing pinprick pupils that darted around like a small bird's would, never focusing on one thing.

6 reached out to touch her, but she gave him a horrified look and jerked her head away.

"I'm…I'm not going to hurt you," said 6 softly. 5 and 7 came over and untied each of 0's wrists, letting her arms fall to the ground. The instant she'd been freed, 0 shoved the others aside and ran towards the edge of the shelf. 6 dove towards her and grabbed her just before she fell off, holding her waist firmly.

"You'll hurt yourself!" he said, keeping his grip as he let her look over to see what a big fall it really was. When she did, she only seemed to struggle towards it harder. "Oh, Zero, no," whispered 6, holding her firmly. Who was this? Why didn't she remember him? Why was she trying to hurt herself? "Don't—don't go away. Please."

"I'm going to shut her down," said 5, coming around to 0's front.

"No!" cried 6.

"Temporarily, temporarily." 5 shoved his hands into 0's open front, to her extreme and violent resistance, and poked and pulled a few things, allowing 0 to seemingly fall asleep right there. "To make transportation back to the library…possible at all."

"What's wrong with her?" asked 7 softly.

6 sank back to his knees, turning 0 over in his arms. "She's…broken," he said, his voice thick. "Lost…unhinged."

"What'll we do?" asked 8 just as quietly.

"We can ask Two," said 9 decisively. "He'll know what to do. Or the twins."

"Let's focus on getting back to the library right now," said 5. He stood and offered his hand to 6, but 6 just remained sitting there, his hand flaking ink onto 0's face. 7 prodded 8 over and he bent down and picked up the prone doll, nestling her in the crook of his arm. 6 looked up at him mistrustfully, but finally accepted 5's hand and stood, taking 0's hand firmly when he did.

They made their way out of the house slowly, all of them mentally and physically drained. When they finally reached the road, the first snow had begun to fall.


	18. The Nightingale and the Rose

More fairy tales. I like metaphors, what can I say.

The story in this is The Nightingale and the Rose, which can be found in its entirety here (without spaces): www. literaturecollection a/ wilde/ 330/

* * *

><p>They sat in groups in the open area by the bookshelves: 7 and 8 with 1, talking in hushed, grown-up voices; 3 and 4 together, of course, trying to coach the story out of 9; finally, 5 on a low shelf, watching 6 pace.<p>

"What _was_ it?" asked 1, his voice showing his age.

"We told you everything we know," said 7. "It looked like one of those bugs, and it talked. It sounded like a woman. It can think. And it's insane."

"Worse than the great beast?"

"All the great beast wanted to do was destroy our bodies. This…thing, this Doctor, wants to destroy our minds."

"Get some paper or something, Six," 5 said quietly, rubbing his optic with his arm. "Draw. Take your mind off it."

"Hands won't stop shaking." He briefly paused to show 5 evidence of that fact, then continued pacing.

"Sit down, at least."

"Can't."

"Do you want a story?"

"Not…not now."

"Seven, I could use some help," said 9, waving her over. 7 patted 8's arm and stood, going over to 9 and the twins and sitting.

"What is it?"

"They keep asking me things, but I can't understand them," said 9, gesturing to the twins. "I was hoping you could."

7 turned to them. "Okay, say it again." They flashed their optics at her for a moment. "One more time." They did it again, the same sequence, but slower. "Three wants to know what the monster did, Four wants to know that, but specifically about Zero."

9 was silent for a long moment. "It…hurt her," he said delicately. "She's very sick."

"Her mind is hurt, and her body," said 7. "We don't know a lot other than that."

"It talked about the psyche, and it said it put her in sensory deprivation and something about a Pavlovian response—"

3 clicked his fingers together and projected a dictionary definition onto the ground between them. It read: "**Pavlov ** (pāv'lôv', -lôf'): Russian psychologist who used dogs to study the concept of classical conditioning. He found out that he could condition dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell by giving them food every time the bell would ring."

"So it made her do something every time it did something," said 9, sitting back and rubbing his chin. "But what?"

"It said something about vibrations," said 7. "And she was covered with those little rips. Do you…do you think—?"

"Oh, no." 9 covered his mouth, his optics widening. "You think…it _beat her_ when she felt vibrations?"

"She _always_ feels vibrations," said 6, joining their conversation for the first time. The foursome looked over at him: his back was hunched, his optics were wide, and his fingers were making a steady clicking noise as they shook and hit against each other. "It…it couldn't have. Could it?"

"It could've," said 5 wearily.

Everyone quieted, considering this possibility. Even 8 and 1 turned to face the rest of the group, most of them staring off in quiet contemplation. If it could break 0 so thoroughly in only three days…what would happen the next time, when it came back? They hadn't killed it; it _would_ be back. It would have studied where it failed with 0, and maybe—

"She'll be okay," said 6, his voice shaking as badly as his hands. He had stopped pacing and now he looked at 5, who he always turned to for support. "She'll be okay, right?"

"Of course she will," said 5 unconvincingly, standing and leading 6 to the others. "She's strong. And she has you. She'll pull through, just like you did."

"Just like me. Right."

5 sat 6 down and gestured to the others, bringing them all into a big circle. "I'm going to tell a story," he said, remaining standing.

9 raised his eyebrows: this was a sight he'd never seen before. Most of the stories he knew had been read out of books; he'd never heard one told before.

"It's something he always did for the twins, and Six, when the beasts attacked" said 7, as though she were reading his mind. "It always calmed them down."

"I'm going to tell the story of the Nightingale and the Rose."

"I know this one!" said 9 excitedly.

"Good, you can be the bush with red roses. Seven, you have white, and Eight, you have yellow."

"I don't know this one," said 7 sheepishly.

"You don't have to. Just remember, you have white roses." 5 cleared his throat, then began. "'She said we would dance with me if I brought her red roses,'" said 5, raking his fingers down his face, "'but in all my garden there is no red rose.' The Nightingale the lived there heard him, and he looked out through the leaves. 'No red rose in all my garden!' cried the student, and his eyes filled with tears. 'My life is ruined for the sake of a flower.'"

Watching 5 tell stories was like watching magic, 9 thought. He really got into it, jumping around and talking with his hands, using a separate voice for each character (the Student's was smooth but slightly whiny, while the Nightingale's was fast and almost tuneful), making the words come alive for their amusement. 5 cocked his head, exactly like a bird would. "'Here is a true lover,' said the Nightingale, for they're always in search of someone to hail as a true lover. 'Night after night have I told his story to the stars, and now I see him.'

5 clutched his hands to his chest. "The Prince gives a ball to-morrow night, and my love will be of the company. If I bring her a red rose she will dance with me till dawn. But there is no red rose in my garden, so I shall sit lonely, and she will pass me by. She will have no heed of me, and my heart will break."

"This is so upsetting," said 7, frowning.

"It gets better," said 5, smiling reassuringly before morphing his face into the wide-eyed look of a bird once more. "'Here indeed is a true lover. Surely love is a wonderful thing. It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than diamonds.

"'The musicians will sit in their gallery,'" 5 lamented, throwing his forearm over his forehead dramatically. "'and play upon their stringed instruments, and my love will dance. But not with me, for I have no red rose to give her.' And he flung himself down on the grass, and buried his face in his hands, and wept." 5 pointed at 1. "You be the lizard. Ask why he's crying."

"Why is he crying."

"Come on, One, you can do better than that," said 7 with a smirk.

1 twisted his mouth into a frown and spat, "Why is the stupid kid crying?"

"He is weeping for a red rose," twittered 5.

"That's ridiculous," said 1, with a harsh laugh.

"That's wonderful, good characterization," said 5. "But the Nightingale understood the Student's sorrow, and he soared into the air, passing through the grove like a shadow. In the center was a beautiful rosebush, and when he saw it he flew over to it." He walked over to 7 and bowed. "Give me a red rose, and I will sing you the sweetest song."

"I can't," said 7, smiling awkwardly. "I only have white roses."

"Nuts," said 5, snapping his fingers, earning a chuckle from 3. He turned to 8. "How about you? Any red roses? I'll sing you a very sweet song."

"I've only got yellow," said 8, smirking. He hooked a thumb at 9. "I've heard that guy has some red roses."

5 turned to 9, his smile slowly fading. They both knew what happened next. 5 held his hand out, pulling 9 to his feet and saying, "Do _you_ have a red rose for a young boy's love?"

"I am a red rosebush," said 9, not quite meeting his friend's eyes, "but it's winter." 9 looked out the window of the library, where snow was slowly accumulating. "I can't produce flowers in winter."

"Oh, boo," said 7, pursing her lips. "Not fair."

"Is there no way I can get a red rose?" pled 5.

9 paused, pretending to think, before slowly saying, "There is a way, but it's terrible, and I don't want you to do it."

"Tell me!"

"There's a kind of magic. If you sing to me all night with a thorn of mine piercing your chest, in the morning I will have produced a perfect red rose."

5 fell silent, contemplating the offer. "Death…is a great price to pay," he said, looking at 6 for the briefest moment, gauging his reaction. "But love conquers all. I'll do it." 5 quickly pulled a page out of the nearest book. "Six, can you be the Nightingale for a minute while I make the rose?"

"What do I do?" asked 6, his voice quiet.

"Sing."

6 stared at 5, who had begun folding the paper, but eventually cleared his throat. "Dites-moi…pouqoi…la vie est belle," he sang, far from beautiful but clear and dark. "Dites-moi pourqoi…la vie est gai." A sad hush had fallen over the others as they watched this little doll sing for his love. His voice was getting weaker, but he went on. "Dites-moi pourqoi, chere—chere mademoiselle." His voice caught and he stopped, blinking.

"Press on, little Nightingale," whispered 5 encouragingly. "Or the day will arrive before the rose is made."

6 swallowed and sang, loudly, staring out at the snow, "Est-ce que parce-que vous m'aimes?" He watched the window a moment longer, then looked down, his shoulders quivering.

5 stood and deposited a small, paper rose on 6's lap. "The Nightingale died, of course," he said, sitting for the first time and putting a hand on 6's knee. "But the boy found the rose and delivered it to his love. They danced all night, and eventually married and lived happily ever after." He touched 6's cheek, guiding his head so he could look him in the eyes. "In the end, despite all the unhappiness, love conquered all."

6 threw himself into 5's arms, shaking and making small, sad noises in the back of his throat, crying without tears. 5 rubbed his back, silently comforting him; glad this was the right story to tell. After a moment, and old voice interrupted them.

"That was lovely, Five," said 2, coming over and resting his hand on the back of his apprentice's head.

Instantly 6 was scrambling to his feet. "How is she?"

"Mostly repaired, still sedated," he said, moving his hand to 6's shoulder. "She's very ill. Did she have a voice before?"

"Sort of," said 6, his eyebrows drawing together. "She could make noises. Why?"

"It looked like it was ripped out. The wires you told me about—the ones that were sparking?—were the ones that connect the voice to the brain in the rest of us. Hers were frayed."

"She could talk before…" 6 said, slowly putting the pieces together in his head.

"And the beast…it had a voicebox that looked new," said 7, sounding horrified.

5 covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh, oh God."

"It stole her voice?" said 9, repulsed. "That's…that's _crazy_."

"You all can come see her," said 2 briskly, trying to change the subject. He applied a slight pressure to 6's shoulder, guiding him forward. The others followed suit, 9 hanging behind.

"Hey, Five, hang on," he said, reaching out to grab 5's arm. 5 stopped, raising his eyebrow. "You changed the story."

"I always do, for them. Fairy tales are very depressing a lot of the time. Besides, in the actual story, the girl says some other guy got her jewels and the rose gets tossed into the gutter in favor of logic. Oscar Wilde was not a happy man." 5 sighed. "He needed a little bit of hope. Sometimes those stories are the only way to get through to him."

"I'm not criticizing," said 9, putting his arm around 5's shoulders and walking him towards the others. "It was good. I'd like to hear another some time."

"Thanks," said 5, smiling one of those smiles that never failed to make 9's heart melt. "Let's go see Zero."


	19. Taking Sides

If there's some interest in the implied lemon at the end of this chapter, I'll write it. However, I'll probably put it in a separate story so I don't have to change the rating on this one.

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><p>5 and 9 joined their friends, who were standing in a semi-circle around the unconscious 0. 6 had sat down beside her and was cradling her head on his outstretched legs in one arm, the other hand encircling hers. She was breathing lightly, her chest rising and falling with small movements. The front of her body had been hemmed and sewn shut with a white button. Most of the scuff marks had been washed off, and the small tears had been carefully sealed with a blanket stitch, making her many new scars almost invisible. Her hands still consisted of only the flat wood plate of a palm, the ends slightly worse for the wear but still intact. 6 ran his thumb down the crown of her head.<p>

"She'll—be okay?" he finally stammered, looking up at 2.

2 sighed, looking weary. "I don't know," he said quietly. "Physically, yes, she'll be fine. We have most of her fingers, and over the next few days or so Five and I will whittle out some temporary ones to use while we find metal."

"What about…her?"

"I just don't know, Six," said 2, placing his hand on the mop of ink-stained hair. "We'll have to see when she wakes up."

"When?"

"Give her time."

6 nodded and went back to rubbing her head with his thumb. 7 turned to their medic. "She, uh—she tried to kill herself when we rescued her."

2 sucked in his breath sharply. "Gracious." He paused, running his hand over his mouth. "What did that thing do to her?"

"We think it beat her whenever she felt its vibrations," said 5. "Either when she reacted or when she didn't. She was tied to the wall, blindfolded, fingers gone—" 6 emitted a low, strangled noise from the ground. "Sorry, Six."

"She…is…hurt," he said, searching for each word. "Inside. I—I feel it. But…."

"What?"

6 looked up at 5, his pupils the pinpricks they always were after a nightmare. "She's still there. She's…lost. I lost her."

"She'll find you." 5 rubbed 6's shoulder comfortingly. "Of course she'll find you." 6 blinked and nodded, then turned back to 0. "Do you want anyone to stay with you?"

"Don't need to." 6 sighed, his shoulders shuddering while he did. "Just—stay close."

"Right across the way. We can be here in a heartbeat," said 5, squeezing 6's shoulder one more time before leaving the two of them to their rest. The others followed suit.

Outside of the recovery area, 1 turned to the twins. "Go to bed," he said shortly. "The rest of us need to talk."

"Now, now," said 2, giving 1 a disapproving look before turning to the twins. "We need to have a grown-up talk, okay?" he said. "You'll be bored. You can get the highlights from Seven later."

The twins turned to each other and flashed their optics rapidly, then turned back to 2. They both held up hands curled in the sign for 0.

"As soon as we learn anything," 2 reassured with a weary smile.

They nodded quickly and scampered off to their room. As soon as they were out of earshot, 1 turned to the group. "The library is no longer safe," he said. "We need to move on."

"What?" demanded 7.

"No," said 9.

"The spiders came and got 0 in the middle of the night, completely silently!" 1 hissed. "Who knows what else could get in?"

"The Doctor didn't," said 9, "and spiders are easy to kill. We just need to make sure we have a couple of people on watch at all times."

"And when they attack in greater numbers?"

"We attack back," said 7. "We're not leaving another home. Eight, back me up."

"Don't pull me in," said 8, holding up his hand defensively. 7 frowned, her eyebrows turning up angrily.

"Thank you, Eight," said 1, smirking triumphantly at 8's answer. "We can find somewhere new. Somewhere better."

"This place has room for all of us," said 9, ticking reasons off on his fingers. "We're already settled in. The beasts might destroy it if we leave. The twins and Seven lived here for months without incident!"

"It has the biggest well of research anywhere," said 5 quietly.

"Right!" said 9, putting an arm around his best friend. "There still so much to learn here. Why should we be driven out by a few spiders?"

"It's not safe here anymore!" 1 exclaimed, pounding his staff on the floor. "Two, you—"

"I don't want to leave," said 2, looking at 1 defiantly. "I like it here. And we have plenty of capable warriors to defend it." His eyes softened. "One, this is our home now. And I will defend it to the death."

1 narrowed his eyes at 2 and stared at him for a moment, then turned and hobbled off to his room. 2 made a tsk-ing noise and turned back to the clan. "I'll talk to him," he said. "He's scared. He doesn't want to lose us all over again. It was hard enough the first time. Surely you can understand that."

"Yes, of course," said 5, giving his mentor a quick hug before the old man went after their leader.

"You wanna take first watch?" asked 9, pointing to 5. 5 shrugged and followed 9 outside. 7 and 8 got onto the candlestick elevator and rode up to 8's room, 7 maintaining a stony silence.

When they reached the larger doll's room, she sat on his bed as he slowly removed the knives from his back and set them against the wall, watching her all the while. She wouldn't look at him, keeping her chin up defiantly and her eyes looking off in the opposite direction. She had crossed her arms and legs, completely closing off her body to him. 8 leaned his shoulder against the wall and said, "You're mad."

"Great observation."

"Why?"

7 looked at him coldly. "Why didn't you take my side?"

"Didn't see the point," 8 grunted, sitting behind her and laying on his back.

"You didn't see the point?" demanded 7, twisting around to look him in the eyes. "You didn't see the point behind defending our home?"

"_Your_ home," said 8, poking her gently. "We've only been here a week."

"It's all of our home now," said 7. She gestured around his room. "You have your own space here. You keep guard duty. How can you say it's not your home?"

"I dunno," shrugged 8.

"That's all I ever get from you."

8 stared at her for another moment. "This isn't about the library."

"_Of course it's not about the library!_" exclaimed 7, trying to express her rage and stay quiet as well. "How could you not take my side back there? You made me look like an idiot!"

"I didn't make you look like anything," said 8, scratching his stomach. "I was honest. I didn't want to take sides." 7 made a noise of derision. "What do you want from me? I had to pick between you and One, and I didn't want to make that choice."

"Well, then I guess you made the choice to sleep alone," said 7, standing and beginning to leave.

8 grabbed her wrist. "Stop."

7 wrenched her arm out of his grip and seethed, "Don't you tell me what to do."

"Look, I had to choose between my boss and my mate and I didn't want to rock any boats," said 8, sitting up. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll take your side. I like it here. Come back to bed."

7 crossed her arms and jutted out a hip. "It doesn't matter what you say now, because I'm not sure if you're being honest or if you just don't want to sleep alone. It mattered what you said there. You should have taken my side!"

"You didn't need me!" said 8 with a disbelieving laugh. "You had Nine _and_ Five _and _Two! One was alone. And I didn't even take his side! I didn't take _any_ side!"

"But you should have taken _my_ side," said 7, pointing at herself. "It didn't matter who was with me, it only mattered that you were against me." She crossed her arms again, an angry blush creeping onto her bleached cheeks.

"Is that what this is about?" asked 8, standing slowly. "You think I was against you?"

"I don't know. I don't know," 7 repeated, wrapping her arms further around herself. "I'm so...scared that you're only here because I'm lonely and you're lonely, and I'm so worried one of these days you're gonna realize that and I'm gonna be alone again. I hated being alone, Eight. I hated it so much."

8 stood and walked over, wrapping his arm around her waist protectively. 7 leaned her head into his chest and listened to his low voice rumble, "I'm not going anywhere." She sighed, slowly lowering her arms. "I am always on your side." She fully uncrossed her arms and leaned herself onto him. "You're not gonna be alone again, Seven." With that reassurance, he scooped her up with one arm and sat back on the bed, laying back with her still clinging to him and saying, "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," 7 whispered, squeezing him. "I just—need to know you'll be there for me, you know? I need to know you won't leave me."

"This from the girl who wasn't sure she wanted me in the first place?"

"Don't be like that. I know now. I want you, Eight. I need to know you want me, too."

"Of course I do," said 8 fondly, kissing the top of her head. "Always."

7 tilted her head up and kissed him desperately for a long moment before snuggling in beside him, one arm draped over his chest, his arm creating a nook for her to rest in. They stayed up a little longer, talking about the events that had passed and, eventually, whispering sweet nothings deep into the night, before finally falling into a contented, dreamless sleep.


	20. Gone

I am so sorry for the two-week delay. That is unacceptable. However, if you head over to my DevArt page (same username), you can see the other projects I've been working on. In the meanwhile, here is another chapter. The song is Younger than Springtime, also from South Pacific. The best rendition, in my opinion, is Mandy Patinkin's.

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><p>The next morning, everyone in the library was jarred awake by 6's terrified voice yelling, "Gone!"<p>

"Gone?" murmured 2, rolling over to look at 1. "Did I hear him right?"

"Let's go—_look_," grunted 1, irritably swinging his legs over the side of their beanbag and standing.

"Your age is showing," said 2 with a light laugh.

They made it into the room just as 5 and 9 were dashing in. 6 was scurrying to and fro across the room where he and 0 had bedded down the night before, looking under books and behind shelves frantically. "Zero—she, she's gone!"

"Gone?" demanded 5. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Gone! Not here! Gone!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," said 9, catching 6's striped arm when he rushed by and swinging him around. "Let me get this straight: you woke up and she was just—gone?"

6 nodded fearfully. "Didn't—didn't sleep by her; woke up—nngh!" He tore away from 9's grasp and ran into the main area, beginning to tear the place apart looking for her.

"What's going on?" asked 8, coming inside from guard duty with 7.

"0's missing," said 5. "Did anything come in or out last night?"

"No, nothing," said 7, her brows drawing together. "You don't think—"

"This time, I actually don't. You saw the Doctor, she's pretty big. Those spiders are, too. Twins!" 3 and 4 poked their heads out of their cubby. "Were the windows sealed last night?" They both began nodding vigorously, but stopped when an abrupt, cold wind slammed through the library, chilling everyone down to their metal skeletons.

"Close that damned door!" yelled 1, turning irritably towards 7 and 8, only to see that the door to the library _was_ closed.

"Then where—?" 9 began, raising a hand to scratch his head. His optics scanned the library, looking for the source of the chill. Finally, they locked in on a window, high above the rest of them.

It was open, and snow was silently drifting in.

"Up there," he said, pointing. He slowly made a trail with his fingers, pointing where the candlestick elevator raised to the top shelf and where someone had piled trinkets and odds and ends to make up the difference between the window and the top of the bookcase it was under.

Quickly, everyone piled onto the elevator and 8 raised it up as far as it would go. 6 and 7 climbed the makeshift staircase and looked out, discovering 3 and 4's rope tied to the sill and dangling over the brick side of the building. Below, in the snow, was a faint trail left by something very small powering through the banks. 7 grabbed the rope and pulled it up, coiling it around her arm as she did.

"She—left?" asked 6, sounding upset and bewildered.

7 tossed the coil of rope to the floor in front of the twins accusingly. "Look familiar?"

3 and 4 flashed their optics at it, at each other, then up at 7. 3 looked terribly confused, while 4 looked on the verge of tears. She turned to 6 and began to sign with shaking hands.

"You..._gave_ it to her?" he demanded.

3 grabbed his sister by the shoulders and wheeled her around, frantically flashing his optics at hers while she did the same, trying to get the whole story out before she broke down and heaved her shaking shoulders, grabbing the top of her hood and pulling it over her face. 3 sighed and ran a hand over his mouth before turning to 6 and signing, 'Story. Bookmark.'

"You—gave her the book," said 6 slowly, "and the rope—was your bookmark?"

4 nodded into her hood, then looked up at 6 and slowly signed, 'Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.'

"She'll _die_ out there," said 7 harshly.

"No!" squeaked 6.

"_Seven_," reprimanded 2.

"She will! Don't try to 'spare' them; if we don't find her, she'll freeze, if the water doesn't short her out first!"

"Going after her," murmured 6, pushing past 7 and 8 and over to the elevator.

"Wait, Six!" yelled 5.

"What?" demanded 6, his normally small voice firm with resolve. "Need to wait? Need a plan? Plan: follow snow, get her, bring her back."

"No," said 5, a smile sneaking onto his face. "You'll need a weapon."

"And backup," said 7, crossing her arms.

6 looked across his family, his clan, and nodded. "Ten minutes," he said, jumping onto the elevator and sliding down to his room.

Ten minutes later, the clan reassembled just inside the library doors. "Where's 1?" asked 9, looking around the circle for the elder.

"I'm afraid he's resting," said 2 with a small smile, hoisting up the small bundle of cloth he was carrying. "Still not quite up to his old speed. So, Six, who will be accompanying you?"

"Five, Seven, and Nine."

"Why not Eight?" said 7 gently. "I know you two had trouble in the past, but—"

"Could be a trap," said 6 quickly. "Need the guard here."

"Astute reasoning, Six," said 2 proudly. He handed out scraps of fabric to the rescuers. "To wrap around your necks. A small comfort, if you will. And Six, this is from One." He pressed a bunch of blue velvet into 6's arms. "For when you find her. She'll be freezing."

"Of course he couldn't come and give it to us himself," said 7 with a chuckle as 6 handed it to 5. "His own cloak. That hopeless old man."

She fell silent as 8 approached 6 and held out 0's now slightly dented thimble hat. "Found it," he said roughly. "Maybe it'll help her remember."

"Thank you," whispered 6, taking it and hugging it to his chest for a moment. He quickly fitted it onto the end of his key (the ridges ensured that it stuck) and, after a moment of hesitation, hugged 8 for about a second.

When he released the guard, he turned to 5. "Weapon."

"Yes," said 5, reaching into his old backpack and handing 6 a pair of thick, sharp needles. 6 tested the weight in his hands. "You can use them like swords, one at a time or one in each hand—" He was cut off by 6 suddenly hurling a needle at the door, where it stuck. "Or you could do that, I guess."

6 ran over and grabbed the needle, wrenching it out, obviously pleased. "Come on!" he said, beginning the ascent on the pile of books. 5 laughed and he and 9 took off after the striped doll. Only 7 hesitated.

"You, uh, that was a very kind thing of you to do, Eight," she said, holding out her hand to shake his.

"Thanks," he said, surreptitiously rubbing her hand with his thumb, the closest he could come to saying 'I love you' in that moment.

"Oh, just kiss him!" said 2 suddenly.

"What?" asked 7, aghast, as she turned to look at him.

"I'm not quite blind yet," said 2, crossing his arms and laughing. "You two have been like this for weeks. You'll regret it if you don't."

A slow smile crept onto 7's face, then she turned, grabbed 8's shoulders, and did as she was told. After a moment, she broke the embrace and whispered, "Stay safe."

"Come back," said 8 equally as quietly. He kissed her once more, then gave her a gentle push in the direction of 5 and 9, who were standing, dumbstruck, on the top of the book mountain. 7 shoved her helmet over her eyes and took off, leaping gracefully over the books and out into the snow below.

After a short pause, 8 spoke. "You knew."

"Of course I knew," said 2, patting the giant's remaining arm. "You two are the most obvious things I've seen, I swear."

8 smiled and began lumbering back to his bedroom. "I thought we were being subtle."

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><p>The four dolls began marching around the library to find 0's snow trail. After a long time of walking in silence, 9 turned to 7 and said, "So...I see you've moved on."<p>

"Shut up," said 7, trying to hide her smile and failing.

"Eight? Really?" asked 5, joining in the good-natured teasing.

"Yeah, I mean, he's twice your size," said 9. "How has he not crushed you?"

"Although that does explain why they hadn't killed each other that night Zero was taken."

"My private life is my private life," said 7, crossing her arms mock-haughtily. "Besides, you don't see me asking how many nights you spend in Nine's bed, Five."

"That's because the answer is _none_," 9 quickly interjected.

"None. Really," said 7, her voice deadpan and her eyebrow raised.

"None, thank you very much," said 5, crossing his arms angrily.

7 raised her hands defensively. "All right! I'm sorry! Geez." After a moment, she added, "It's just, you two carry on more than Six and Zero, so—"

"Six!" yelled 9. "Where are you?"

"Younger than springtime, are you," sang 6 from a distance. "Softer than starlight, are you. Warmer than winds of June are the gentle lips you gave me!"

"Come on, we'd better not lose him, too," said 5, jogging to catch up with his brother.

"Hey," said 9 quietly, when 5 was out of earshot. "Knock it off, would you?"

"I'm sorry," said 7 genuinely. "I thought he knew. I wouldn't have said anything if I thought he didn't."

"I'll—I'll tell him. Soon. I will. The timing's just...not been right."

"I understand."

9 smiled awkwardly. "Thanks. When I do tell him, you'll be the first to know." He began to catch up with the other men, but first paused and added, "Congratulations, by the way. I wish you all the happiness in the world."

"I don't need wishes," said 7, grinning and stroking the nose of her helmet.

"He's turned you sappy!" crowed 9 as he ran to the others. "Never thought I'd see the day!"

7 only responded by trilling, "Gayer than laughter, is he! Sweeter than music, is he! Angel and lover, heaven and earth is he to me!"


	21. DitesMoi

Ahh, this chapter was exactly what I needed. I have a feeling it will be exactly what you fans needed, too.

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><p>6, 7, 5, and 9 trudged through the snow for what felt like hours. The decent mood that had dominated during the first part of their journey was long gone; now they only felt tired and cold. They largely remained silent, trying to preserve strength. However, they pushed on, trying to follow 0's tiny footprints before the snow covered them up.<p>

"Six, is she close?" 5 asked, tugging the scarf closer around his neck. It didn't do much to stave off the horrible chill, but 2 was right: it did provide some measure of comfort.

"Close," 6 repeated. He'd stopped singing, now only occasionally bursting into hums, like he was a bat and that was his sonar. 7 had rushed ahead to clear the path, claiming she didn't get cold as easily as the rest of them did.

"Why didn't you sleep by her last night?" 9 asked from the back of the group, his curiosity overwhelming him. It was something he'd been wondering since they'd set out that morning: they all knew not to sleep alone, or at least to take shifts. Why had 6 disobeyed that rule?

6 paused and looked back at 9, intense regret registering in those mismatched eyes. "Didn't want her to—wake up…be scared."

"Scared of you?" asked 5, pausing to put a hand on 6's shoulder.

"She—she's sick," said 6, gripping his key tightly. "I-I didn't…didn't want her to—to—"

"Because she doesn't remember you," said 5 quietly. "You didn't want her to wake up beside someone she doesn't know."

Before 6 could answer, 7's voice rang out, far in front of them. "I found her!"

6's optics snapped open. "Zero," he whispered, and he spun around, shoving past 5 and sprinting down the tunnel of snow 7 had made when she'd pressed ahead. 5 tumbled backward, landing in the arms 9 had stretched out when he saw 5 trip. He looked up at 9, a small grin on his face, and 9 felt the world slow down for a moment.

Things seemed to crystalize in one second. 6 was in love with 0, and soon 0 would be in love with him as well. 7 had moved on, and she and 8 seemed to be as happy as they could be. As much as they bickered, 1 and 2 had each other to balance the other out, and the twins kept each other happy and occupied. Everybody had somebody. And now, today, they were out in a blizzard hunting for someone they'd barely known for a month. Why? Because of love. The one thing their souls comprehended completely and implicitly.

And 5 was wonderful. 9 had learned so much about the inventor in their few months together: he was a storyteller. He acted as a father to the twins, and a brother to 6. He was nurturing and loving, and he made sure everyone was comfortable and cared for. When 5 had come back alive…9 couldn't remember a happier moment than when 5 had hugged him those many weeks ago. And he couldn't remember a more upsetting moment than when he'd let 5 die.

5's one eye blinked and suddenly 9 snapped back to reality. "You okay?" asked 5, not moving himself from 9's arms.

"I—yeah," said 9, quickly releasing him and rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I just…can I talk to you when we get back to the library?"

"Yeah, of course," said 5, grinning in confusion. "What about?"

"Nothing important," 9 lied, trying to regain his composure and taking 5 by the shoulder to lead him down the pathway towards 6 and 0.

They rounded a corner and were greeted by the sight of 7 standing over 6 and 0, spear raised to protect them from any interruptions. 6 was kneeling beside his mate, desperately pulling 1's blue velvet cape out, and 0 was curled on her side, optics closed, not moving.

9 and 5 dashed over. "Is she—?" 5 started as 9 collected 6's needles from where they'd been tossed on the ground.

"Not yet," said 7, a slight tremor in her voice. "But close."

6 whimpered as he lifted 0 up off her side and wrapped her in the cloak. He picked her up like he had during the thunderstorm so long ago and held her, trying to envelop her in the warmth of his love. She was so cold; she felt like ice. "Come on, Zero," he whispered, hugging her still body close. "Come back. I-I need you. Zero, please, Zero."

She stirred slightly in his arms. "Zero?" 6 looked down at her, not releasing his hold.

0's eyes flickered open slightly. She shifted her head to look at 6, and upon feeling the vibrations of his voice, tried lamely to get away. "No," said 6 firmly, tightening his grip. "No. Not again."

0 looked up at him, her eyebrows drawn together. "It's me," 6 whispered, trying to smile as comfortingly as he could. "It's Six. It's me. Zero—come back. Come back." 0's lip began to tremble, and her eyes searched 6's face desperately, trying to remember who this was, and why it felt so right in his arms. 6 didn't say anything for a moment, trying frantically to think of some way to tell her it was him before she slipped away again. Some way to jog her memory, to help her remember that storm, the nights spent in her hammock, the secrets they shared, the love that had saturated every aspect of their time together. But how could he get it across to her when she couldn't hear, and when she even had a fear of _vibrations_—

6's eyes widened. Vibrations! Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it before?

Slowly, haltingly, he wrapped 0 back up in the makeshift blanket and pulled her close to him. He was met with little resistance, which only served to alarm him further; she should have been fighting against him. But he had to try it. He drew one arm around her shoulders and the other beneath her legs, and he began to sing.

"Dites-moi pouqoi la vie est belle," he whispered, holding her close to his chest so she could catch every fluctuation in the tune. 7 felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Dites-moi pourqoi la vie est gai." This had to work, it had to. If even the song couldn't bring her back, 6 didn't know what he would do. 5 reached out and took 7's hand, feeling he'd burst into tears if only he could.

"Dites-moi pourqoi, chere mademoiselle." 6 didn't look at her, not yet. She wasn't moving, and 6 wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 9 took 7's hand as well, his other hand making an encouraging fist, hoping against hope that a lullaby would bring her back.

Finally, after a small pause, 6 sang, "Est-ce que parce-que vous m'aimes?"

He let the last note stay there for a moment, not daring to look at her, only cherishing this silent second when he could feel her chest rise and fall, like he hadn't felt in days. The memories hit him like a ton of bricks, and he was nearly knocked backward by the sudden flood. He could see it all behind his eyes: the moment they met, the first sign she taught him, the first time he'd taken her hand, the moment he'd realized he loved her, their first kiss in her hammock. That smile. Her smile. They couldn't all go away, could they? Those moments, they were as close to magic as he'd seen in this dead world, and if she didn't come back, he…he didn't know what he'd do.

Finally, he chanced a look at her.

Her optics were wide, and her mouth was upturned in a very small smile. 6 was still for a moment, the smile registering slowly in his brain, and then he dared to return it. 0's grin widened and she tossed the blanket off her arms, using the very little strength she had left to reach up and hug 6 around the neck. 6 began to laugh, a genuine sound of mirth that 9 had never heard before as 6 hugged 0 tighter, like he'd never let go. Maybe he never would. 7 squeezed the men's hands, smiling widely. 9 pumped his fist in the air and whooped, and 5 put his hand to his chest, smiling tearfully at the reunion.

0 pulled her face back and kissed 6 jubilantly, not releasing her arms from his neck. 6 cradled her head in his hand, returning the kiss with fervor, hoping that this meant that she was back to stay.

He pulled back and whispered, "Don't do that again, don't leave me again. Zero, Zero, I love you. I love you." 0 shrugged to indicate that she had no idea what he was saying and kissed him again, holding him as tightly as she could.

After a moment, 0 began to shake and 6 was brought back down to earth from the cloud he'd been on. He quickly released 0, bundled her back into the cloak, and stood, still holding her. "Back to the library," he said to the others, still smiling. With that, he took off, the trio hot on his heels.


	22. I Might Even Love You

Oh. Hello.

Bet you all thought I'd forgotten you, huh? No chance. I've sunk too much into this story to let it just go to waste. I did have a difficult time between the last chapter and this one, being really unsure about where I was going to go from then on. But I think I have it figured out. And you'll be seeing me more often from now on.

Check out my DeviantArt (same username) if you want to see what I've been working on! It's all (mostly) 9 related. Essentially, in the past few months me and a few others have created a sub-fandom all our own. But enough about that. Here's the new chapter!

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><p>"Are you ever going to put her down?"<p>

9 watched 6's mop of hair sway as he shook his head. "No."

"Six—"

"Nope. Never…never ever."

0, for her part, wasn't complaining. It felt good to be back in her right mind, even if she was still fighting off the blackness that crept around the very edges. Having 6 there helped. He'd scooped her up in the snow and was currently in the process of carrying her back to the library with the rest of the search and rescue party. She was wrapped in 1's blue cloak and warming back up, but it was slow going.

"She's going to have to walk on her own sometime," 5 laughed.

"Not yet." 6 hiked 0 up a little higher to plant a kiss on her forehead. 0 sighed and curled closer: oh, she'd missed that.

They followed their footsteps back to the library entrance, pleased to see that nothing had happened in the hours they'd been gone. 3 and 4 practically killed themselves tripping over the pile of books at the entrance to get down to 6 and 0. They began frantically flapping signs at her, trying to see if she was sane, if she was safe and whole and her again. All 0 managed to get out was a nod and a small smile.

At the pile of books, 6 finally let her down, not wanting the change in incline to disrupt his equilibrium and send them both tumbling down. Instead he adjusted the cloak around her shoulders and took both of what remained of his mate's hands, leading her up and back into the library, fighting the urge to pick her up again once they were back inside.

"Back again, I see!" 2 said jovially, beckoning a twin over to translate for him. "How are you, my dear?"

0 looked down at her still broken hands and sighed, then looked up at her room and back to 2, miming falling asleep.

"Of course, of course. Will you be alone or—" 0 vigorously shook her head, latching onto 6 quickly. "Naturally. If you'll bear with me a moment, though, I can fix at least one of your hands." He gestured to the repaired fingers that sat on a nearby book. "One hand is better than none."

0 hesitated, then nodded, holding her right hand out. 2 deftly fitted the fingers into the open slots on the end of her palm, then flipped her hand over and reset the delicate wires on the base of the fingers. He flexed his own hand and 0 repeated the gesture, bending each finger slowly. "Good. That's good. We'll whittle some temporary wood ones for your left over the next day or so. Okay?"

'Thank you.'

"Think nothing of it. Now, I believe you have a nap to attend to?"

6 nodded with a tired grin of his own and led 0 over to the candlestick elevator, pulling them up to their nook. 6 used a book to block the entrance and afford them some darkness and privacy and clambered into the hammock, opening his arms to his mate. 0 hesitated.

"Zero?" 6's brows contracted. She looked so small and lost, enfolded in a cloak much too big for her, her shoulders hunched and her eyes not meeting his own. He signed as he murmured, "Please come here."

0's lip trembled and she fell forward, her knees buckling below her. 6 scrambled to catch her at the last moment, gripping under her arms and heaving her into their hammock, using his own body as a mattress for her, the cloak left on the ground. 0 fit her arms around 6's shoulders and draped one leg over both of his, curling as close as she possibly could. 6, for his part, wrapped his arms around her middle and held her tightly, feeling her tremble on top of him, bone-deep shivers that wracked her tiny frame. He never took his eyes off her as he reached down and grabbed their blanket from the other side of the bed, draping it over the both of them. It hurt him to think of how terrified she'd been, trapped in her own forced nightmares. It ached to think of how much he loved her.

"Oh, Zero, Zero," 6 murmured, fluttering kisses all over her face and head, trying desperately to convey to her without words how much he'd missed her. When her shaking subsided a little bit, but not quite fully, 0 finally looked up at 6, determination and hurt and want shining out of those silver optics. She cupped his face in her one good hand, kissing him firmly, a kiss to tell him she would never leave him again, not if she could help it.

"I love you," 6 breathed when she pulled away, saying the words aloud for his own benefit. He kissed her again. "I love you." A third time. "Zero, I—I love you so much, it-it _hurts_."

0 gave him a timid half-smile and shrugged, still unable to understand him. 6 copied the smile, taking her right hand and kissing each of her fingertips, folding down the middle and ring finger after he'd pressed his lips to the copper and laying it on his own chest. 0 looked down at the sign, _their_ sign, and blinked slowly, biting her lower lip again. She pressed it into the stripes and ink stains. She could never leave this. He would never let her.

"I love you," 6 repeated, kissing her forehead and giving her body a squeeze. "You will never be alone again, ever."

Finally, after weeks of thunderstorms and loneliness and beasts and nightmares and lullabies, finally, they slept.

"How did she seem when you found her?"

2, 5, and 9 had gone to what had become the workshop in the old library, a nook surrounded with books standing on their ends. 2 and 5 had seated themselves on a pair of books stacked on top of each other, several scraps of wood scattered between them. They'd split a pair of nail clippers and were using the sharp ends to whittle out 0's temporary fingers. 5 looked up from the wooden finger he was working on. "We thought she was dead. At least, I did."

"Yeah, I did, too," 9 nodded. He was sitting on a wooden thread spool, his lightstaff in hand. He was slowly polishing the bulb with a rag. "She was just…so still. So tiny."

"But 6 didn't let her leave," 5 added with a smile. "I'm happy for them. It's good that they each have someone who understands them."

2 sheared another scrap of wood off the finger in his hand. "What will we do now?"

"We have to go after it," said 7, entering the workshop. "We can't let it live. It's too much of a danger, to all of us. It was only through luck that Zero's even alive now."

2 sighed. "I agree."

"What? But—" 5 said nervously, almost dropping the finger, "but it could kill us."

"It could do much worse than kill us," said 9. "That's exactly why we have to kill it."

"Oh, alright," 5 sighed, looking back down.

7 patted his shoulder, then turned to 2. "One was asking after you."

2 smiled slightly and set the finger down, grabbing his cane and standing with its help. "Thank you, my dear. He probably can't see something and needs my help. We'll need to be looking into fixing his eye soon."

7 made eye contact with 9 as 2 hobbled out. She smirked and jerked her head towards 5, who didn't look up from his project. 9's eyes widened and he imperceptibly shook his head; 7 rolled her eyes and jerked her head again, more firmly this time. 9 looked from her, to 5, and back to her, finally setting his jaw and nodding. 7 smiled again and gave him a thumbs-up before walking out behind 2. Even then, 9 remained silent, gently sliding the rag across the light bulb's surface, his eyes carefully trained on 5.

"Didn't you want to talk to me?" 5 suddenly asked, looking up at 9 with his one optic.

"Oh! Um…yeah, yeah I did." 9 set the lightstaff to the side, standing and wandering about the small space, his hands clutched together behind his back. "I've been…thinking."

"Yes?"

"Well, um…I really don't want this to sound bad."

5 smirked. "I doubt anything you say to me could sound bad." He paused, then his optic widened. "Oh, um, I mean…we know each other so well. So I think I could figure out whatever you were saying. Trying to say. Um." He quickly looked back down at the finger, falling silent, a bright green glow in his cheeks.

9 smiled softly. "You're—you're such a good friend, Five." He sat beside the Cyclops, drumming his fingers on his knees. He laughed, chokingly. "Which is why I'm so nervous about this."

"Nervous about what?" 5 felt something flutter in his chest, but he pushed it down like he had so many times. 9 probably just wanted to ask him about guard rotations or something mundane like that…but 9 was never nervous. Especially about mundane things. 5 sheared off one more scrap of wood and put the tool and mostly-complete finger down, turning his concerned gaze on 9.

9 tapped his toes on the floor, a pressure building in his chest. He was finding it difficult to breathe at the moment, and he certainly couldn't look up at 5, for fear that he'd take the coward's way out again, like he had so many times. But no. No more running, no more avoiding the fact that 5 made him feel like he had something to take care of, something to cherish and love and hold. "I just—" He paused, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, counting to ten and coaching his thoughts into words.

"Nine, what is it?"

"I think—and I don't want you to think that this is just because I can't have Seven, because remember, I was the one who turned her down. And I don't want you to think that it's just because I'm lonely or whatever, or because you're available and I think _you're_ lonely, because I don't! And I really—I really care what you think of me. I do."

"Why are you—"

"I like you!" 9 finally blurted, almost screamed he was so nervous. He clapped his hand over his mouth, obviously not intending for it to have been that loud. He still didn't dare look at 5. He slowly lowered his hand and said, much quieter, "I like you…a lot. I might even love you." He clutched his hands into fists on his knees. "Please say something."

"Nine." 9 finally sighed and looked up at his old friend, jerking slightly when he saw 5's mouth contorted into a goofy smile. He tentatively returned the smile, tightening his hands slightly. "Are you—is this a joke?"

9 shook his head. "I don't think I could joke about something like this."

5 released a bubbly laugh, his optic positively alight. 9 searched his face frantically, trying to see 5 was laughing at him, if this was all a joke to him, but before he could really delve into the neuroses behind rejection, 5 was upon him, arms wrapped around his shoulders, mouth crashing down on his own. 9 made a small noise of surprise, but quickly wrapped his arms around 5's waist, throwing himself into the kiss with the passion and fervor that had been building in his stomach for months. It was intense, but ultimately almost silent, private and passionate and altogether their own, an oasis in a desert, the calm before a storm.


End file.
